#i love him for his storytelling first and foremost he's so talented it makes me emo u guys

[ange1sang]

big fan of all the shirtless and nsfw scenes cameron monaghan has done over the years but playing jerome and jeremiah valeska is still the hottest thing he's done to date

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream: Space Jam/Space Jam: A New Legacy

I am genuinely confused, guys. Space Jam: A New Legacy has come out, and it is just getting a critical thrashing on all fronts. It is being derided as being a retread of Ready Player One, it’s being mocked as a shameless commercial, it’s being called the ‘definition of corporate’… And all of this is just baffling because this is literally no different than the original film, which was based on a commercial and just made to cash in on 90s culture. The original is a cult classic now and something of a meme in its own right, but it is undoubtedly a big fat commercial made to cash in on the times and boy did it ever because we still remember it fondly to this very day.

But I think there’s plenty of value in this new film, and I think a lot of it might be fondly remembered by younger generations down the line like the original is by people like me. What helps is that, in a lot of ways, this movie does things way better than the original… though I certainly won’t say this new film is perfect by any means. You’ve gotta go in with the mindset that this is just a dumb, silly commercial that you’re watching for cartoon antics and shameless product placement, first and foremost. Do that, and you might be able to handle all the stuff I’m about to talk about.

The obvious starting comparison for the films is the leads. Michael Jordan in the original is, to put it lightly, not an actor. He puts in a very corny performance by even the nicest definitions. But still, I think that lends him a charm all his own, and he’s not detrimental to the film at all. In fact, his lack of acting talent is easily smoothed over by the general charisma Jordan brings to his role. In comparison, LeBron James is a much better actor (though let’s not pretend he’ll be winning an Oscar any time soon), but he lacks a lot of the charisma Jordan brought to his role. That’s not to say James is weak, though; he acts just enough to bring the awkward, dorky charm of someone not an actor by trade trying their best to the role. It’s hard not to like him, at least a little bit, and he does have some decent interactions with the Tunes, though I think Jordan definitely has him beat there.

Speaking of the Tunes, they are a clear improvement over how they were in the original film. A common criticism of Space Jam is that, as fun as the Tunes were, a lot of the time they were a bit out of character, and the one newcomer (Lola) was nothing but oversexualized furry bait who existed to be a love interest and whose personality began and ended with ‘girl.’ The new movie fixes this by giving the Tunes a lot of fun, cartoonish antics that feel far more in line with how they are usually portrayed. Bugs is back to being a tricky rascal, Daffy is an egomanical jackass, and so on. Much like a lot of modern portrayals, the movie fixes Lola by amping up her badass qualities while still staying true to her original appearance by having her be good at basketball, but not to the point she overshadows everyone. There are some issues with the Tunes, such as the weird stunt casting of Zendaya as Lola and Gabriel Iglesias as Speedy instead of using their more modern voice actors, as well as using a voice for Bugs that makes him sound really off at times, but overall the Tunes are treated far more respectfully and with far greater dignity than the original afforded them (except my man Marvin, they really did him dirty in this one).

When it comes to the main villain, there is absolutely no contest here. Swackhammer is a bland, horribly forgettable corrupt corporate executive archetype with little to no interesting twists to him, and he commits cardinal sin of cinema by wasting Danny DeVito. A New Legacy, on the other hand, gives the Oscar-nominated superstar Don Cheadle a hell of a lot to do in the movie. Al-G Rhythm is a sentient computer virus who wants to capture LeBron James and use him to churn out lazy, soulless cashgrab films, and he does it all while hamming things up to the high heavens. Cheadle looks like he’s having an absolute blast, and he’s definitely one of the most fun villains in a kid’s movie in a long while (especially since Disney doesn’t seem to be able to make good villains anymore). Unfortunately, this does come at a price it seems. In the original, the opposing team is comprised of the Nerdlucks/Monstars, who all build themselves up throughout the movie as an actual intimidating threat. The opposing team here gets no buildup, being conjured up solely for the big game at the end, and while they’re not awful, they really aren’t particularly memorable either.

Speaking of the big game, I’m just gonna say it: A New Legacy blows the original completely out of the water in this regard. The cartoonish antics are through the roof and are mixed in with video game antics, Don Cheadle hams it up to the high heavens, and there are cameos from the most ridiculous array of Warner Bros. Properties you could imagine. This has become a prominent source of derision, but if you feel no joy at seeing Arnold Schwarzengger’s Mr. Freeze, the Droogs, Pennywise, and one of the nuns from The Devils doing idle animations and losing their shit over a Looney Tunes basketball game, I’m not particularly sure I care about your opinion. This is the exact sort of stupid fun I’d want from a movie like this. I’ll certainly take it over Bill Murray showing up out of nowhere for no good reason, that’s for sure.

The humor of A New Legacy far outshines the original for the reasons I mentioned with talking about the portrayal of the Tunes, but there are some issues. The montage where Bugs and LeBron recruit all the Tunes is a bit rushed, and the concept (the Tunes have migrated to other Warner properties) is really glossed over save for Daffy and Porky in the DCAU and Lola training to become an Amazon in a comic book-style take on Wonder Woman (complete with the now-iconic theme!) that really goes to show she should replace Gal Gadot. Other than them, we get Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner in Fury Road, Sylvester and Elmer in The Spy Who Shagged Me, Granny and Speedy in The Matrix, and Yosemite Sam in Casablanca, and while all of these gags are great and funny, they’re over far too quickly and could have been expanded into a whole sequence of their own rather than just a montage. I don’t know about you, but I really am far more interested in seeing what the hell Game of Thrones is like with Foghorn Leghorn as Daenerys than I am most other things in movies. It’s just a whole lot of missed opportunities. I’m less forgiving to the out-of-nowhere rap battle in the middle of the basketball game, but is it really worse than the out-of-nowhere Pulp Fiction reference in the original or, again, Bill Murray just showing up at the end?

Look, I’m not trying to say either film is some masterpiece of emotion or storytelling or anything like that, but both films have their place. The original is a fun, corny piece of 90s nostalgia that manages to be fun almost in spite of itself, while the new film is a fun, goofy spectacle that takes everything good about the first film and makes it better while still hosting problems of its own. They’re fun, flawed, amusing, and stupid commercials, and they absolutely deliver on what you want them to be. The Looney Tunes play basketball with a superstar against a bunch of crazy opponents while a cavalcade of cameos watches from the sideline… If you’re expecting anything more, you’re watching the wrong movie.

[fmdjoosungarchive]

restructuring task 1

+5 tracker points

1. assuming your muse has changed in some way, be it internally or as a result of a change of the external factors around them, how is your muse different? these can be as small as an opinion on a song they hadn’t released previously or as big as a major change in their background.

wc: 365

idk if i’ve said this on dash yet, but i’m treating new famed more or less like an au. in sung’s au, the defining change is that he was let go from gold star when he had his injury as a trainee. it was always my headcanon that they truly were close to cutting him loose anyway, so this is just the other side of that. he had his injury, got plastic surgery to try to appease them into keeping him, and they still let him go. when he went home his parents said alright u tried that now join the fam business n sung freaked bc he realized he doesnt want that for himself so he went to do smth he also hated, and joined the military. while there he still worked on his dance and vocals whenever he had a moment to do so, so that when he was discharged and started auditioning again, he wasn’t so rusty

he is a year younger in this world, just bc of quantum’s age range, not for any other reason. makes him a little less of a cradle robber in his relationship lol which, another change is that daisuke wouldn’t have been his first kiss, just first everything else

quantum is very different from old element and new element, but it’s very in line with what i liked about quicksilver (& has models from that) and he’s a leader! this is an idea ive toyed with a lot over the last three years tbh. at first i didn’t think sung suited a leader position, but he came to show me he’s just a different kind of leader. i liken him to jinki often in this regard. rather than lassoing members in, he supports them being however they are, and takes an intimate/emotional path to gaining their trust and leading them. and while he wasn’t suited for the full business life, what he learned from his father’s teachings helps him in dealing with the company as the group’s representative there (& he loves a good powerpoint presentation)

other timeline stuff for big events in his life are likely to shift but i’m not sure on specifics yet

2. what does your muse think of their company and their group?

wc: 260

as the child of a businessman, he’s never under the illusion that as a company entity, their first priority is their wellbeing. he knows that they are products, and that they’re treated as such. it’s a bit heavier with dimensions than gold star, since gold star makes a more active effort to pretend they care. however, once having accepted that, sung thinks himself and dimensions work well together. he does feel that for a company, they allow himself and his members to be a part of the creative process, as says their motto. he feels much more encouraged to write songs and choreograph under dimensions than he did under gold star, where it felt like he was constantly on his knees begging for the company to take him seriously

as for quantum, sung really loves what they’re about. he’s not a big fan of all (or most) of their songs, though he’s more loving towards a song written by another member even if it’s the same sound he dislikes, but he absolutely loves being focused on performance and concepts. his creative mind works very much on the basis of story and emotion that comes with it, and he feels like quantum’s concepts sometimes to often lean into his tastes. he’s always been a dancer first and foremost (god am i so glad to have his main dancer title back i MISSED u) so focusing on performance is v much up his alley, and his preferred style of dance is through storytelling. he feels the heart of dance is in that

3. is your muse on their first contract or their second? if they’ve renewed, what were their feelings around that at the time and what were their hopes for their second contract? if they haven’t renewed, what are their current thoughts on the end of their eventual first contract?

wc: 281

quantum’s on their first contract still, up for renewal in 2024. at the current moment, he would like to re-sign. however, unlike my others, his re-signing depends more heavily on the other members. if they were unhappy and wanted to leave, sung would want to follow suit, not because he can’t make his own decisions, but because if the reason the members want to leave is because of the company, not quantum, he’d want to try to help quantum continue to live. if that means all of the members leaving in order to rebrand under another company, so be it. he’d like to avoid lineup changes however he can, and ideally would like to be an idol for as long as possible

he himself feels alright about his treatment. he feels creatively stimulated, and appreciated for talents further than his face. if he were to try to negotiate different terms at their contract renewal, part of it would likely be wanting to give members a higher share of profits, especially on releases they’re creatively involved in. sung personally has no use for excessive money, but not all of his members have his background, and he feels more than just the money, it’s what’s fair. he’d also prefer to allow for more creative freedom. as a 7/8 year group by then, he’d think they should be allowed to take the reigns more heavily. and on his personal side of things, he would want dimensions to be more mindful of his schedule. sung enjoys working, but he’s only one person, who doesn’t want to be overworked. these are all just his current thoughts, though, and will probably change before contract renewal comes up

4. what are your muse’s goals and motivations?

wc: 294

his motivations to be ‘successful’ and/or achieve his goals are his family, namely being someone his nephew and niece can be proud of, and someone his parents can feel was worth letting go of. he feels closer to the latter than he did in old famed. his members motivate him to be a good leader, his desire to grow as a creator motivates him to write and choreograph

specific goals could be bigger like his desire for more public recognition. while quantum has a lot more recognition both in korea and abroad than element or quicksilver, sung wants the best for his group. he’d be happy if they stayed where they are with their loyal fandom, but he still aims for more

sung also wants to get better at standing up for himself. he’s best at standing up for others, because he can slap on a bit of bravado in order to help them out, but when it comes to himself, especially with his parents, he’s pretty awful at it

he’d also like to create more for quantum, and others. i/he have a goal for him to write a whole album for someone, so if anyone reads this far and could want sung writing for their muse, hit me up!

he’d like to get married and have children one day. that’s always been a dream of his, and while he knows his career doesn’t allow for that soon, it’s still on his docket

he wants to spend more time with his family, especially his nephew and niece. they’re so new to the world and learning everything, and sung wants to be a part of that. he doesnt want his part in their early lives to be ‘i don’t really remember seeing him back then’

5. what is one conflict, internal or external, that your muse is currently dealing with, has recently dealt with, or will need to deal with in the future?

wc: 291

at some point, this bitch is gonna have to admit he’s a homiesexual. in his previous version, it was a lot easier for him to ‘i pretend i do not see it’ when it came to that. sung’s very ignorant when it comes to the queer community in korea, so he’s not even really aware of terms beyond gay, maybe trans. but, terms aside, he always thought he was someone who liked women, and daisuke and a couple of others were just outliers. they were the Special ones outside of his jurisdiction that were just too good for him to not notice. aka he believed he was bi. and now, he still does, but i have less faith he’ll be able to hold that up until he dies like i did before, because he’s actually dated at least one woman before in this world. considering the plot has yet to be picked up, i don’t know the specifics, but i do think it’s harder to run away from when the way he treated a relationship with a woman and a relationship with a man were lightyears away from one another. it’s still possible for him to run away from the truth of the situation, but it’s also very possible that one day, his thoughts on it will shake, and everything will click into place (messily,, probably the messiest clicking ever) it would be a difficult thing for him to come to terms with, though i think it’s better for him in the longterm to truly know who he is, and why he acts the way he does, why he feels the way he does about women vs men. it’s also nice just to not live a lie, even if only privately

6. if your muse has established career claims, what are their thoughts on their career so far? if they do not, how do they feel about not having individual activities yet? what would they like to do in the future, if anything? if they don’t have ambitions for individual activities, explain why.

wc: 523

sung has a pretty filled history of individual activities. most are points claims with a focus on modelling, his radio, and music, though he’s dipped into pretty much ever facet of idoldom, some with more success than others. his ecp expenditures flesh that out a little more, and add a bit more realism, and/or make sense of the group changes. he had a one year modelling contract with the north face, and while official claims aren’t possible, i was inspired by a couple of things rowoon did with them. there was more of a push on an eco-friendly side of things, and there was a bit of dancing. playing into his group position with dancing i feel is fitting, but the eco friendly part i also feel could round out his image more as a good, kind boy who also can be sexy, whereas before, his earlier modelling claims focused a lot more on the sexy aspect, because it fit element and his trajectory there better. here, it makes him more dual sided from the beginning. north face is also just a nice, strong brand that i think is fitting for a pretty boi. i set it a bit after a year out from debut because i feel like that’s the most realistic, especially for a group like quantum that grew audience with each comeback

part of that first year being focusing only on the group ties into his creative claims as well! his first creative claim was with the bside love, lalala on the eternity ep. the nicest part of creative claims being unattached to positions is that all of sung’s claims are the songs in the discography most Him. so love lalala is very jazzy and smooth, and would have served as his first introduction to songwriting, as well as what made him interested in songwriting. then he was a choreographer on error, which is heavily story based, and about the members being a unit, and making beautiful pictures together. i hope to snag intro long journey and outro long journey from the beginning and end of the ateez sector, because they’re beautiful compositions that fit sung’s style, but also having him on both makes him feel like he’s a part of the concept’s creation in an intimate way, which fits with dms. then there’s aurora, which sung partially composed and partially choreographed. the choreography has contemporary flair to it, and the song is a flowing sound that matches that. then there’s partial production on sunrise, which i just love the robotic ass experimental production there, and comp for with u, which i believe ties back into sung’s rediscovering his love of piano. choreo for valkyrie is most similar to error in it’s pretty pictures way, and also has a bit of complex footwork, especially as its point dance, which is also p sung to want to include. and finally, some comp on stand by, which is like a mix of the appeal of aurora and with u methinks? listening to all of his written songs together i feel like really makes a picture of sung’s songwriting so i love that

[smokeybrandreviews]

Smokey brand Reviews: True North

The Golden Compass sucks. i saw that wet fart when i was younger, on a whim, and was thoroughly disappointed. Sh*t didn’t make a lick of sense to me. That film was my first introduction to the His Dark Materials and it soured me on the entire franchise. Like most of the movie-going crowd because it flopped like a fat man into a public pool. The thing abut that movie is that it felt like another entry into the Narnia Chronicles, and abhor that franchise. I’ve hated them since i was forced to read them when i was in the third grade. They were terrible, and that was before i become aggressively areligious. Afterward? Bro. Suffice it to say, when the BBC adaption was announced, it was hard pass for me. And then my mom got HBOMax.

I was seeing a ton of ads for season two, a strong focus on Lyra and John Parry. Th more i saw of those Youtube ads, i don’t watch television anymore, the more i became intrigued. Eventually, i bit the bullet and did some research on he show, itself. Yo, i was SO glad i opted to give this thing a chance. The cast was amazing. the principal characters, all some of my favorite actors but, more than that, the plot was mad intriguing. It was so clever and unique and so far removed from Narnia wank, it could be considered anti-Narnia almost. How the f*ck did that movie get so much wrong? Suffice it to say, i gorged on that first season like a fat kid gorges chocolate cake. I finished it last night and these are my impressions.

The Outstanding

First and foremost, i absolutely have to praise Dafne Keen in this, man. She is Lyra Silvertongue, heroine and main character of the entire Dark Materials series. This success of this show rests on the shoulders of the then fourteen year old and she carries that sh*t like a champ. There is a wit and wisdom that Lyra carries which belies her age and Keen taps into that effortlessly. She played Laura Kinney in Logan a few years back, keeping pace with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, so i knew she was skilled in her craft but i never imagined she’s be able to carry such demanding fair, so early in her career. I’d say she was the best thing about this show but that’s not really true. The level of quality in this thing is just that profound.

Ruth Wilson plays Marisa Coulter, Lyra’s mother, and, holy sh*t, is she incredible in the roll. Look, i love Wilson, even when she is in less than quality productions like The Affair. That show was bogus. What wasn’t bogus was her stint as Alice Morgan on Luther. I absolutely fell in love with her on that show and Ms. Coulter gives me all of the Alice vibes, just far more cruel. If Alice was calculating and aloof, the Coulter is deceitfully cruel and i love every second of it. You can tell there is a sadistic streak, straight up wrath, just below the surface and Wilson captures that skin deep veneer in a gently terrifying manner.

James McAvoy comes through and delivers yet again with his detached and insidious Lord Asriel Belacqua. It’s always a pleasure seeing this man do his job and, admittedly, he’s not in this first season much but the time that he is, McAvoy dominates. This is a desperate, desperate, man who knows he is right and will do anything to accomplish his goal. This single-minded drive reminds me so much of Sosuke Aizen from BLEACH and, like Aizen, Lord Asriel literally threw away everything to achieve that goal. It’s wild seeing Professor X go full Magneto and love it!

Line-Manuel Miranda is in this as the snarky Lee Scoresby, Texan Aeronaut, extraordinaire. Look, Manuel is a brilliant artist, i can’t take that away from him. He’s exceptional in Hamilton and on the stage but that’s a completely different skill set. There is a way you have to perform, to project, on stage that doesn’t translate to film and Manuel is still trying to get a handle on that. He’s not terrible in this role, mind you, but he’s just serviceable. However, the chemistry he has with Keen is something special. You can tell they get along strongly and that genuine interactions shines through in their performances together.

The rest of the cast is just as strong, specifically Kit Connor and Joe Tandberg as Pantalaimon and Lorek Brynison, respectively. Ariyon Bakare, Clarke Peters, Anne-Marie Duff, Lucian Msmati, Amir Wilson, Ruta Gedmintas, Will Keen, and Lewin Lloyd all turn in incredibly strong performances, for what they were given. A lot of these characters deserved a bit more screen time, a bit more fleshing out, but i am okay with what we did receive. This ain’t their story, it’s Lyra’s.

I just need to take some time and praise this show for how properly gorgeous it is. I mean, the level of production on this thing is rather profound, you knew that in the opening scene during the flood, but moreso as the world begins to expand. I know a lot of this stuff is filmed on sets and what not but, my goodness, are they elaborate and detailed. That whole arctic run was brilliant. It’s particularly intriguing when you understand how well the CG effects were used in regards to budget. The whole “show don’t tell’ adage definitely comes into effect for this serial and it’s all the better for it.

I am absolutely in love with the narrative, man. Never mind the actual plot in the books, the adaption presented is one of the best I've seen in a long a while. My goodness, the world being built is so enthralling, so captivating, i hate that i slept on this show, this series, for so long. I understand that this is one interpretation of the novel events but I'm still infatuated with every second of it.

The writing in this show is on point, for sure. It feels organic, it feels real. I know this is a series of books, decades old, but that goes a long way to proving the pedigree of this adaption. This doesn’t feel out of place or trite or try hard. It works beautifully, except for when Manuel is delivering dialogue outside of his scenes with Keen, and that is a real joy to watch.

There is a distinct focus on diversity displayed throughout this show so far and i love it. This is a reflection of the world in real time and more, big budget, shows need to show this reality. The difference between this and, say, Disney Star Wars or current Doctor Who, is the fact none of the representation in Materials feels forced. It feels organic, intrinsic to a story about entire worlds. You need this level of diversity for this story to be taken even remotely seriously in the modern day and i commend the production for handling this so well.

The Okay

I’ve never read the books so i can only judge this thing on what i glean from the wiki and what i see in the show. While i am completely smitten with what has been resented, the show feels like an abridged version of what we get in the books. I know for all adaptions that’s true but this feels like a legit highlight real of the greatest hits. I can’t say for sure but the adapted screenplay feels like it’s trying to load up on plot as much as possible, in as short a time as possible. Makes for an interesting view but, as a cat who understands storytelling, it feels like a patchwork of content.

This thing has some pretty brisk pacing. Again, i don’t know from where this first series is adapted but it definitely feels like they were in kind of a hurry to get. I mean, it really doesn’t but once sh*t gets started, it never looks back at all. It feels like that, at certain times, we should have definitely sent more time on an interaction or with a relationship. Lyra’s time in the Magisterial and Bolivar, particularly, seems rushed to me.

It’s uncomfortable how many times they make Dafne get naked. Obviously, they don’t show anything and it’s all inferred but, like, gross.

The Verdict

I loved this show, man. Absolutely adored every second of it. The BBC, when it really wants to, can produce some brilliant film. Luther, Sherlock, War of the Worlds, are all favorites and now His Dark Materials can be confidently added to that list. This show is gorgeous to watch, the production values on full display. Sweeping cinematic vistas both real and composite, permeate this rather cleverly effect heavy adaption. The performances, alone are enough to keep you coming back for more but this is, genuinely, one of the most gorgeous shows I've ever seen. Speaking of performances, everyone is excellent but the anchor is definitely Dafne Keen. Her Lyra Silvertongue is the linchpin of this entire show and she bares that weight brilliantly. I forget sometimes that she’s only fifteen, especially considering the talent she with whom she shares the screen. Ruth Wilson, James McAvoy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda all have capitol roles in this first season and they relish their time on camera, especially Wilson. I’ve been a fan of hers since that brilliant run on Luther as Alice Morgan so seeing her, here, has been giving me the best type of deja vu. His Dark Materials is f*cking outstanding, man. I can gush about this thing ad nauseam but this essay would definitely turn into a novel and no one wants that. If you have HBOMax, definitely give this a go. It’s one of the best shows out, has a full eight hours to binge in season one, and another four, so far, in season two. Sh*t is dope and i highly recommend a proper watch.

[sorneth]

LFRP! Sorneth Caduceus

Art by @elizastarkart​​ , Paid Commission

Sorneth Caduceus

“Given my relatively small social circle, I’m seeking to meet some new faces and perhaps find some new adventures and stories to tell in the process. Perhaps you would be someone interested? Perhaps a bard like myself catches your eye, sparks your curiosity?”

The Basics ––– –

Age: 35

Birthday: December 21st

Race: Duskwight Elezen

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bi-sexual

Marital Status: Happily married, closed relationship.

Server: Balmung, Crystal Datacenter

Physical Appearance ––– –

Hair: Natural silver in hue and dusted with white highlights, it falls to mid neck in the front, and his shoulder blades in the back.

Eyes: A dark grey ‘white’ of his eye makes the moon white hues of each iris all the more vibrant. Strangely, they seem almost wolf-like in nature, though that could just be coincidence.

Height:  6'10 (208.28 cm)

Build: A militant style background, and strict upkeep have resulted in the sculpted muscle that makes up most of the Bowman's frame. Resulting in a tone that is well suited for agility, speed, and endurance.

Distinguishing Marks: 

Facial scar; Only about a year old, this wound was obviously left by a sword given it’s depth and path. It cuts down from his right brow, over the bridge of his nose, and down his left cheek almost to the jawline. 

Facial ink; intricate filigree like vines in dark grey ink adorn the right side of his face both above and below his right eye. 

Crest of the Wolf; Above his heart rests the bust of a wolf in black ink.

Common Accessories: 

Feather adorned hat; Rarely if ever seen without it, one might wonder if it’s removal or destruction would bring about the end of him with how attached he is to it. Weathered, but well cared for, it’s obvious that it’s been on every adventure the bard has had over the years.

Well made dragon scale collar; Stamped with a wolf’s head with an arrow in it’s jaws, the artisan made collar is of the bard’s own creation. An inch and a half wide black leather band circles his neck, with the outer surface wreathed in lavender hued scales from a dragoon’s signature armor. With a locking dog collar buckle at the back of the neck, and the crest of a dragon wrapped around an orchid at it’s front. The piece is both practical, and artistic in it’s design. The ‘d’ ring at it’s front also sports worry stone like pendant of a dark, night sky blue hue.

Silver orchid pendant; Strung from a sturdy chain and hangs low enough to kiss his collarbones, the pendant is as well worn as the holy symbol of a priest or paladin. 

Personal ––– –

Profession: Bard & Storyteller first and foremost.

Hobbies: Carpentry, Leatherwork, Hunting, writing

Languages: Eorzean Common, Thavnarian, Hingan, Doman, Garlean, The old tongue (amarotine/pre-sundering), Gelmorian, traditional Ishgardian, steppe-tongue, shroud-speak.

Residence: Forest cottage deep in the Dravanian Wilds

Birthplace: Whenever asked, the bard simply says ‘The Shroud’

Religion: Similar to the Nights Blessed of the First, he worships and reveres the Sunless sea, and it’s celestial keepers. The Guardian of time, the weaver of fate, and the twelve zodiacs.

Patron Deity: He holds a special fondness for the fateweaver 

Fears: The rage of Dragoons, the loss of his senses, being forgotten/erased by time.

Relationships ––– -

Spouse: Maxia Caduceus, Husband.

Children: None

Parents: Though they are alive, he’s never known them, nor has any memory of them.

Siblings: None that he’s aware of

Other Relatives: He may, he may not, he simply doesn’t know

Pets: A celestial wolf, not unlike a carbuncle, named Fenrir

Traits ––– -

* Bold your character’s answer.

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between /  Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

Additional information ––– –

Smoking Habit: Frequent, usually an herbal mixture of medications and male birth control - though he will on occasion dip into fogweed to quell his nightmares and dull the pain of flashbacks/painful memories. Drugs: Aside from what he smokes, he usually avoids such substances unless properly prescribed to him by a medical professional. Alcohol: On occasion. He drinks to taste, and no longer indulges in wine as much as he used to - on account that it makes him into one -very- flirtatious and amorous drunk. Though he has been known to enjoy absinthe with select company.

RP Hooks ––– –

The Wandering Bard; The man is not hard to find, and even harder to miss. From the music flowing from his harp within the taverns of Eorzea, to his enthralling stories told in the streets to groups of interested people or curious individuals. From the smallest settlements, to the big cities, his name his known as is his talent. All one needs is a genuine interest, and the bard is ever humbly at your service.

The Night Hunter; Only in circles of voidsent hunters, is his skills as a professional seasoned hunter known to his peers. With a reputation for clearing up to A-rank marks solo, he has never over his career failed a contract. For the right price, his bow is yours should you wish to hire him. Should you be tainted, marked, or a creature of the void or light yourself however? Be weary, for the wolf is always watching, and eager for a hunt.

Bad Dravanian Artisan; A bit of a guilty pleasure for the bard, his skills in leatherwork has been turned from a hobby into a marketed craft to the public. From collars, to leashes, floggers, whips, crops, bindings, and harnesses, he produces quality lifestyle and kink gear to interested customers. Custom works are also available to order, and the man takes pride in his every creation - even wearing and putting his own work to use himself. Stamped with his signature of a wolf’s head with an arrow in it’s jaws - it’s easy to trace his creations back to him.

The Secret Author; Under the pen name ‘Heliake Norrst’ the bard has written and produced a great number of books available in most book stores across the world, and in multiple languages for his international fan base. While his work varies in genre from adventure, to horror, mystery, and tragedy. It’s his Romance novels and Steamy erotica that’s made him world famous. Perhaps your character is a fan? Perhaps your character has been on a mission to find out who this mysterious and enigmatic author really is?

Lost in the woods; As one who hunts for his own food, leathers, pelts, and other materials for his craft. The bard is as much at home within the forests of the Shroud and the Coerthean wilds as he is within his cabin. It would not be far-fetched for him to cross someone lost, or having fallen victim to the erratic weather patterns or wildlife within those regions. Be it him happening upon someone while on a hunt, or having someone banging on his cottage door in want for help or shelter. Both are equally possible.

The Kind Traveler; The bard is not one to leave another at the mercy of fate, and even in his more ‘off the beaten path’ traveling it’s not an uncommon occurrence to come across another in need of aid. Nor is he hesitant to offer it. 

Contact Information  ––– –

Discord: Sorneth#6998 (Your free to add me if your interested in RP! I -do- do discord RP, but I’m not the best at it in terms of keeping up.) Tumblr: Your looking at it! (Completely IC blog, unless it’s a direct message. You will get IC responses) In game: Sorneth Caduceus (I’m -very- whisper friendly! So poke me anytime!) Carrd: Here

Seeking: Connections, RP Opportunities, New RP partners to write with in addition to the two lovely people who I RP with already.

Additional Questions? Please feel free to contact me to your hearts content, I’m about as threatening as a newborn kitten and I promise I’m likely way more anxious and afraid of you, then you are of me. <3 So pour upon me questions, concerns, or plot ideas!

@mooglemeet​

[ssaalexblake]

I am, as they say, That person who has a huge ass pile of books to read that i’ve had, in some cases, for years, but i saw the new Suzanne Collins book was out and got an e-copy and read it immediately, you know, as you do when you have a huge pile of books to get through. 

anyway, spoilers, definitely ---

I’ve never actually read a Book where the whole story was from the perspective of a terrible protagonist, i have read books where there have been spare chapters from the perspective of villains, but never has the villain been the Protagonist before in my experience. And this protagonist was showing danger signs of a seriously pathological narcissistic personality from the opening world building chapters, and it only got worse and worse as the stakes in his life got higher and higher. 

And here’s the thing, i Know people were immediate and vapid in attacking Collins for this when the plot summary were released, and i will admit, my eyes rolled so very much at the immediate assumption that this was a story to make you sympathise wigh him, because, simply, i’ve read the trilogy. Collins’ doesn’t even make her Hero characters that sympathetic a lot of the time, with the exception of Prim and Rue, whose literary function demanded them to be symbols of purity and innocence, practically everybody else is in a shade of grey. The victors we love all have blood on their hands, even Peeta, who is also a symbol for non violent ideals, is corrupted by the narrative. This is not a series that is particularly nice to it’s cast of characters, even when we are meant to Like them. 

But now after some brief fandom browsing i am now just going ‘wtf’ at the idea that people are Still holding onto the idea After having read it that, just because a story is about a bad guy, the author Must somehow be endorsing their actions. I’ve literally never read a story with a more unsympathetic protagonist. What a Disgusting person. 

This story revealed that the villain is a pathological and possessive narcissist who is very much the hero of his own story, but sure as hell nobody else’s. 

I also noted that people have been commenting that the book is too Coincidental in its references and that it made it a bad story, that they were just for clout. That Snow is in 12. The lake. The bakery and so on and so on, and that it put people off and seemed just a grab to keep people interested, but the thing is, it’s a Ballad.  This isn’t ‘the novel of songbirds and snakes’, it’s ‘the Ballad’. It plays out, contextually, with the deliberate knowledge that all the readers have read how this story ends in the trilogy, as one of the covey’s songs. 

I’m not sure how to phrase it, but i feel like viewing the story and plot itself as more of a folk song or limerick is the best way to look at it from, it’s not Meant to be a novel. It’s a Ballad. The literary devices in two such storytelling methods are very different, in a ballad i would Expect this type of thing which is fair because the book is named a ballad. In a novel i would find it a bit too coincidental, but i don’t think that was how we were supposed to look at it. 

That all aside, i never actually had any feelings for Snow beyond the literary device he embodied, the power so vast and beyond you it is hopeless to even think of defying it. Now i have Many feelings about Snow, namely, that i actively hate him now. 

This book may actually play out as a cautionary tale about being careful of narcissists, actually, and taking care to make sure they do not end up amassing too much power. 

I would say Collins portrayed Snow as a mixture of the old Nurture versus Nature debate, his absolute lust for total control to no longer be the victim of something as horrific as the war was Clearly a case of circumstance... If he had never been in the war, he would not have felt the sheer powerlessness that has led to his absolute need for control. 

There is also the other angle of his nurturing that plays into this, his Absolute sense of entitlement as a Snow. He was born a Snow, not some lowly normal capitol family, or worse, one of those ‘district animals’. In his mind, what was rightfully His was stolen from him when they lose the business in the war because of district 13, he got bit in the ass by capitalism, hilariously. His family’s business went under, and the loss of income from it took them from hero to zero, but he though he was Owed his money and status by virtue of his birth and did not see how fragile the perch of his wealth and status was even After the perch had been toppled and he was left penniless. The presence of irrefutable evidence that nothing but access to more dollars provided his life style did not even break through his entitlement. 

But i mean, there are a lot of entitled capitalists in this world who think that just because they Used to have money and a thriving business means they are entitled to always have that, and while it makes them not that great, it doesn’t exactly make them Monsters. But here’s the thing, you also cannot claim that Snow is not just naturally a self centered narcissist. That is just a personality trait, and it is This that makes the above a horrifying problem. 

When somebody else is harmed, it is about how it will effect Him. The tragedy in being assigned district 12, girl, was not that a girl was being stolen away to be murdered, but that he got stuck with one of the kids unlikely to win. Tigris’ implication of what she may have had to do to keep their family operating was first and foremost about how uncomfortable and disgusted it made Him. Other were reduced to utter horrors to survive the war and he judged them for it, all the while, he only escaped such a thing because of a crime his grandmother committed (looting was, technically, illegal). Clemmie maybe needing him? It wasn’t about her or her life, it was about how it might effect Him (to a point, it is fair to fear for your own life in such a situation, but most would bother to feel bad about it). This is just a handful of examples, but there are many, many more. 

He is also Horrifyingly possesive. He, Literally, is a textbook case of an abusive boyfriend who kills their girlfriend because they might have priorities other than him. Lucy Gray may not be dead, i was not left with the impression he succeeded in killing her, but the deal sealer is in the attempt, not whether he succeeds. The entire narrative in his head towards his relationship with lucy contains every danger sign i’ve ever been warned against in men. He wishes to Own her, not love her, and that he was literally given her life on a plate as an experiment did not help with his narcissistic entitlement. His family and friends (though, he did not have friends) all assumed he loved her and because they said it he assumed it was true. But it was possession he was feeling. 

He did not help Lucy out of the goodness of his heart, it was self serving. It was self serving the entire time. Us, having knowledge of his internal monologue are aware of his self centered intentions, but the characters around him, unaware of this, treat him as if he is a good person because they assume he has charitable motives. He very much does not. Him comforting Clemmie was, every step of the way, for his own benefit. He Certainly was not the saint Sejanus thought he was. 

But he still Believes the people who tell him how great he is!!! Narcissist. 

he is, in short, a right piece of work. What a monster it takes to get your ‘brother’ executed for treason and manage to make it about himself in about an Hour. What a monster it takes to attempt to do that to Lucy Gray. What a monster it takes to get the Plinth’s only child killed and take his inheritance and power out of a sense of entitlement and continue calling the grieving mother ‘ma’. 

Anyway, brilliant character building. I Hate him. 

I also Love the world building, the confirmation that Reaping Day is on July 4th, the idea that in the beginning even the capitol citizens thought the hunger games were barbaric and depressing and that they had to be won over by a propaganda campaign of dehumanization and entertainment. The idea that mentors were once capitol citizens, that it went wrong so they erased it from history but cherrypicked the parts that worked. 

I found Dr Gall or whatever her name was gravitating towards Snow interesting, because people who are like that Naturally gravitate towards people who prove their world views right, and by all rights Snow does turn out very much like her (admittedly, with less an interest in science), who is to say she in turn was not less of a monster in earlier life but grew into it as well? She saw something in him and nurtured it with poison. 

This is getting increasingly more random, But i love Peeta’s highjacking now. I was never against it, but it was never the plot for me, but now i am So into it. Because Sejanus is Very peeta like, that idealism. And how satisfying it must have been for Snow to finally be able to crack into that and destroy it because he has the Power to do so now. 

On the flip side, I actually now wish we had Peeta perspective chapters, because there is a compelling argument to say Snow and Peeta have their similarities, too. I mean, their defining difference is that Peeta is a good person, but they have the same talent for sheer manipulation as each other, Peeta manipulated hunger games audiences into keeping Katniss alive longer, Snow did the same with Lucy Gray. They are both deeply charismatic, generally liked by their peers, popular, are sabotaged by small groups of people who hate them for reasons beyond their control. They are inversions, same coin, different sides. 

The sexual slavery of the victors is now a more narratively interesting thing, as well, because snow is, in this book, Disgusted by the idea of any kind of sexual impropriety (not My opinion, but he considers it impropriety). He is disturbed by Tigris’ implication she may have had to engage in it. Was what he did to the victors merely a case of his disdain for district animals and wishing to subject them to the most degrading thing as possible? How did he get from A to B here? 

Seeing the very first career pack was interesting, too. I wonder if the stronger districts started to band together in the games from realising the strategy had advantages or of the capitol subtly Encouraged the behavior themselves. The latter seems more likely, considering they were the ones out for a good show. 

I was interested on canon confirmation on the peacekeepers, to be honest. I’ve seen fic discuss where exactly they come from, but to know they are made up from less wealthy capitol citizens And district people after either money/a way out of their assigned district’s profession or both was a nice lore drop. 

I know it’s not Confirmed Tigris is the same Tigris who played a part in mockingjay but... it would be so wonderful if she were. Being brought down, in part, by she who nurtured him. Tigris loved Coryo because she thought he was somebody he was not, so when and how did she find out who he Really was? 

In the end, i find the idea that this books Shows us Snow created the country we see in the trilogy through the reasoning that A) humanity is terrible and will always fight and try to destroy each other  and that B) he decided that if point A was true, he’d amass enough personal power to make sure he would Always be in control of the fights and come out on top of them utterly Fascinating societal commentary, most of which is not really my lane to address so i won’t (also, it’s fairly obvious). 

But the idea that Snow was one of the capitol ones who sees the district people in a more favourable light simply because he’s at least willing to admit they’re not zoo animals is Stunning when you put it in context of all the things He does to them. He’s not even close to the worst one and look what he did! 

In the end, i think Collins has fleshed out this world and made it more horrifying than it was before. And Panem is meant to be a reflection of our own society’s failings. This book was not to say ‘oh Snow was an actual person so wasn’t That bad’, it was trying to say ‘Snow was an actual person and is Very much terrible’ because the idea is this series is a highlighted reflection of the real bad in our own world. If the monster Snow is cannot be relatable to a real person, how is it any kind of societal commentary at all? He cannot be one dimensional and totally evil from the womb if you want the story to actually say anything. 

I also did find this story relied on Collins’ previously seen not necessarily realistic world from the original books to make its point, and i did not expect that to be a deal breaker for so many people considering the story from the trilogy relied on its audience’s skill to read into the meaning rather than the literal at times as well, but i stand by my assertation that the title is meant to be an indication of the type of narrative the book observes, it is a song, which is a very different style of story than that in any other kind of media. 

[missstormcaller]

BLEACH JET Artbook Talk Vol 2 - Translation (Q16-30)

ABOUT CREATION

Its distinct characters, selection of poetic dialogue and countless array of illustrations are all a grand attraction of "BLEACH". We reveal how they came to be born and close in on the secrets behind the creation process.

Q.16: How do you come up with the Kidō and Zanpakutō incantations?

Kubo: I just do somehow.

—— J: That you're able to just do it somehow, is nothing short of amazing. When it comes to the visual impact and sound, which angle do you prefer to tackle it from? Kubo: I guess both the sound and visual impact at the same time? Speaking of which, I haven't composed a Kidō incantation in a long time. —— J: They exist in a variety of categories, such as the explosive types, the binding types and so on. Where does your vision of their respective techniques come from? Kubo: I'm not at all sure. I wonder where the conception of my ideas originate from. There were certain things which took inspiration from song lyrics for example. —— J: They rhyme pretty good don't they? Kubo: I think I'm seeking to make people start wanting to repeat the words themselves. Or rather, I want people to feel a somewhat good vibe when they say it, like the seven-and-five syllable metre. That, I would say, is the case for given names or the names of  techniques, pretty much everything. Furthermore, I have a feeling there were also things that took inspiration from the likes of mythology, "The Devil's Dictionary" and phraseology that appeared in books of that kind, but I honestly don't remember at all (laughs). —— J: Isn't Hirako supposed to release his Bankai in Narita's novel too? Kubo: Narita put forward a request, asking "may I get Hirako and Hisagi to release their Bankai?" and he followed up with "if it's okay with you, please tell me their names" to which I replied "I will think about it", I finally finished thinking about it just the other day. Though, as a matter of fact, I haven't relayed that information to him yet. —— J: I'm looking forward to it (laughs). Do you associate ideas from the impression of the character? Kubo: I draw out a great number of words by way of considering the abilities of the technique, the original Zanpakutō name and the character's image. After consulting with Narita about the establishment of Hisagi's Bankai, I said "perhaps this will do" and the direction I took became something like "bodies that are tethered together",  consequently I began writing a list of all the words relating to "binding", "rope", "chains" and "prisoner". By establishing a successful link among all of that, it becomes a matter of combining the words and such…. —— J: So then, your process begins with the task of expanding a list of vocabulary first and foremost. Kubo: That's right. —— J: Which character's Bankai name caused you the most struggle to devise? Kubo: This time, Hirako and Hisagi are probably up there in first place (laughs). Hisagi might have taken the most time. —— J: Apart from that, did you contrive ideas from the image of characters like Ichigo and Byakuya? Kubo: I had no troubles at all when it came to that case. Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu is taken from part of a name of a monster I was thinking about drawing in another manga. —— J: Oh! When did that one-shot happen? Kubo: It's "Rune Master Urara" my debut one-shot for Jump magazine. For a period of time, I was having fun coming up with monsters that could appear in that work, it was a time where I had devised a many number of them, the name of this super strong monster-like enemy with the whole length of its body pitch black was "Tensa Jūzen", that's where I took the "Tensa" part from. —— J: The roots of Tensa originate from there huh. However, Tensa did not appear in "Rune Master Urara" right? Kubo: Yes. Well, it was the configuration of a character that I would draw in the event that the work got serialised beyond this point. The visuals for Dondochakka is also something I had devised around that time. In order to get serialised in jump, I went to around three meetings and, well, failed on all attempts, but in those course of events I produced up to three chapters worth of work and showed it to Asada san who was my editor in those days. I presented Dondochakka's character visuals in several patterns of the second or third chapter which I had submitted, but Asada told me "don't make such a scary-looking guy the ally"…. I thought "you're kidding me, isn't he adorable?" but it was hopeless. Though, since I liked him so much I thought I'd try to use him for "BLEACH" (laughs). —— J: Are there other characters with this kind of case as well? Kubo: I only recalled that through our chat just now. Since I was not able to use the character in the other work, I'd say that's probably just about the only case. Also, with regard to Orihime, she puts her Shun Shun Rikka into operation by way of her hairpins doesn't she? Although this is also a matter from before "BLEACH" was serialised, Orihime's powers were at one point completely different to what they are now, there was one version in which she would sprout horns and a tail. Personally I thought this was cute as well, but I was told by Asada "the heroine can't look like this monster!" (Laughs) I'm relieved it was Shun Shun Rikka in the end though (laughs). —— J: Were any of the monster-like individuals of Hueco Mundo, like the Arrancar and Fracción, also based on rough drafts from around that time? Kubo: In that instance, I believe I just drew them more on the spur of the moment. —— J: Were there any complicated characters that made you feel something like "this character was not all that strong in the past, but since they're getting stronger, I have to start thinking about their Shikai or Bankai!" Kubo: I guess that would probably be Hisagi. I didn't think he would get that strong (laughs). —— J: Characters such as Byakuya give the impression that they were super strong from the very onset after all. Moreover, when you achieve Bankai, the fact is it remains imprinted in the history of Soul Society. Kubo: correct. It goes down in the records. —— J: I'd never have guessed that Hisagi would possess that much strength! Kubo: Hisagi doesn't really seem to be the calibre of some hotshot does he (laughs)? Although, that ill-suited impression about him is Hisagi's likeable side anyway. —— J: That pitiful aspect is the good thing about Hisagi isn't it? I mean, it's like you you just end up poking fun at him. Kubo: That's what I said even when Tōsen left, normally it would be just fine to promote the lieutenant to captain with the change in circumstances, but I thought "Hisagi and Izuru can't possibly be captains could they?", the pair really give the impression that they don't have what it takes. These two shine more as vice captains. That's why I created the forced post of "acting captain" and settled the matter there. Depending on one's viewpoint, Hisagi is kind of a hero-like character who has come to gradually develop as a result of all the various hardships that have befallen him. —— J: He is a hard worker isn't he? Though, even Hisagi would have been outstanding befitting of his talent when he first enlisted. Kubo: It's also neat how that is like the peak of his life. But on account of acquiring Bankai, I can say he has talent!

Q.17: I would love to know Sensei's process when he's thinking up characters! Although it might differ depending on the character, I wonder if 'the face suddenly springs to mind', or 'the outfit floats into your head', or if the 'name appears before you' etc….

Kubo: Since I just manage to draw my characters somehow or the other, it's not so much procedural…. —— J: Does "somehow or the other" mean that maybe you think to yourself "let's draw some guy who appears to give a certain air of strength", or "let's draw some guy who seems the type to deceive others?" Kubo: The idea is already in my head. Rather than thinking about it through the flow of the story, when I envision it, it's as if a substance like milk or mud begins to accumulate, something resembling a humanoid form floats around aimlessly within it, after I pluck it out, its image is gradually made clear, I think that's how it feels? —— J: That's pretty abstract! Kubo: By that point I would have more or less settled on things appearance-wise, with that frame of mind I then either compose it on paper as a rough draft or leave it floating in my head…. Aside from that, if any names come to mind I make a note of it, from among these rough drafts and notes I combine a set of ideas that makes me say "ah, this person will be the one to enter the stage this time", and finally I specify the role. —— J: So then, you compose the names and designs separately? Kubo: Yes, I think I quite often do things separately. —— J: So it's practically like how Ichigo was was searching around for his Zanpakutō through Ōetsu Nimaiya's training? Kubo: If I had to make a comparison using "BLEACH", then I think that analogy is the closest you can get. Generally, when I think to reveal a new character, I already have just the right person in mind. The story as well the characters is something that comes from me, so there is an outline from the very beginning. —— J: A number of unpublished materials have appeared for the first time in this artbook, but basically a large quantity are rough sketches. You would very often draw it and then put it aside for the time being. Does this mean there are hundreds of blueprints for characters dimly occupying a space in the back of your head?

Kubo: That's true, they have been there for some time now. When I put forward new characters, it's almost like taking that vision out of my head and making a clean copy. However, sometimes I don't have time and can't make the appropriate adjustments, so their faces start changing gradually in the manga (laughs). In that sort of sense, I have never been troubled by things such as the storytelling, or scenes that establish new characters. —— J: Are there any characters who, for instance, you had actually planned to put out on the Shinigami side, but ended up being revealed on the Arrancar side instead? Kubo: There is no character whose blueprint has changed to that degree. —— J: On the same subject, which character would you say came to be revealed in the most underdeveloped state and changed at a later stage? Kubo: I think the character who underwent the most change in terms of appearance, is Ulquiorra. When Ulquiorra made his first appearance, he had quite a different face. The personal image of him which existed in my head didn't change during the the creative process, but later when I looked back on my work I thought "his face looks a lot different huh?" —— J: I see. Kubo: In some cases, when an idea for a character appears in my head, their looks, personalities and sometimes even as far their colouring are all decided then and there, as for other characters those things are gradually decided upon. —— J: Do you feel the volume of these characters increased day after day? Kubo: It's not that they were created on a continuous basis, but rather in waves. Sometimes I produce five or six characters in the space of an hour or so, and sometimes it seems I produce none at all for days or even months. Therefore, the characters multiply either when I'm in the zone or when it's absolutely necessary to create them. —— J: From the considerable number of characters that appear in "BLEACH", I'd say the state of 'being in the zone' can't last forever, even if you can yield five characters in an hour. Kubo: And this is after a great number of cuts have been made too. These were unreleased characters that I felt, did not suit the universe of "BLEACH". Then there's the unreleased characters that have the right aura which I am able to present in "BLEACH", but I am not sure which part of the story I should apply them to. —— J: Are they characters which were not even suitable as Shinigami, Arrancar or Quincy? Kubo: I make a rough decision on the location and scene before I start designing them as either Shinigami, Arrancar or Quincy, but then there are some individuals that make me think something like "There's no panels to spare to introduce this guy to story. What role would he have played?" So, perhaps by some chance they will make an appearance if the timing is right when I draw something? —— J: That is certainly a treasure-trove you've been sitting on. Kubo: There's also the characters that make think something like "I wonder why this dude came to mind?" (Laughs) Q.18: The unique names which belong to the characters of "BLEACH" are impressive, but how do you come up with these names? Kubo: Even when I think about character names, I consider the sense of sound. The example I often cite is Hitsugaya Tōshirō, because it needed to give a cool impression, I thought a name that begins with letters either in the "sa column" or "ha column" would be perfect. I feel those sounds come across most smoothly. That reminds me, I believe Hitsugaya had a completely different name belonging to the "sa column" right up until the last minute. —— J: I'm curious about the name which got rejected. Kubo: The fact that I had forgotten about it, likely means it wasn't a good name to begin with. In addition, I consciously try to avoid names from the "ma column" because it doesn't sound cool. —— J: I get the impression that you take a great deal of care in the way you use consonants. Bambietta Basterbine for instance is all B-B-B. Kubo: That's right (laughs). —— J: The types that rhyme are nice as well, like Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Kubo: I'm often told that with regard to Grimmjow. —— J: It sounds cool, so it's a name that makes you start wanting to say it out loud.

Q.19: Regarding the characters' theme songs, I wonder how you visualise your characters to determine their songs through a piece of musical composition?

Kubo: When I'm planning and designing a character, a song that's familiar to me could start playing in my head and I think "that works a treat", in some instances when I'm drawing the scene in which the character first appears, a song that's playing in my head could naturally become their theme song.

Q.20: Are there any characters that received new theme songs around the time of the last chapter?

Kubo: Well, I've got nothing off the top my head. —— J: So the vision you decided on at the beginning, remains as unchanged as before? Kubo: Yes, that's true. Even if I had tried to listen around for a theme song once more, the one I chose in the beginning will always be the best suited.

Q.21: Each character has their own theme song, but do they also have their own fragrances to suit their image? I imagine it would be interesting if sensei did a collaboration with a perfume brand….

Kubo: I'm not all that familiar with perfumes, so please feel free to ask a perfume manufacturer instead (laughs).

Q.22: I'm curious to know if there are any characters who who radically transitioned away from your initial conception and setup, both during and before the series.

Kubo: Grimmjow is the one who underwent the biggest transformation. I get the feeling I've mentioned this elsewhere, but Grimmjow was initially set up to die before long, it was my plan to make him exit the stage as the story progressed, however when it came to the crunch I began drawing, and by the time I had finished drawing that week, I had already felt it was a waste to kill him off. I thought "this guy is too good", so when I informed my editor at the time that "I changed my mind, I'm going to abandon the idea to kill him off", he told me "to be honest, I also thought it would be a waste to let him die", this is a conversation I remember quite well. —— J: It certainly seems as if the side to him which is wilfully arrogant and confrontational would mark him out as an easily defeated character, however out of that, components like revenge and fate were affiliated with him and thus he became a great character.

Q.23: I would like for sensei to tell us if he is particular about anything when he's drawing female characters!

Kubo: I, don't think I'm good at drawing females. —— J: There's no way that's true…(laughs)! Kubo: For that reason, I'm not very particular about it. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say "I hope they look soft" and that's about it. When the series first commenced my lines were rigid, and I should say I was fairly annoyed by that….That's why I want to draw my lines softer for females. —— J: Noel's thighs in "BURN THE WITCH" when she was riding her broom, as well as the straps of her holster biting into her skin, that appeared to be most supreme level of soft (laughs). Kubo: Well, I'm glad to hear that (laughs). As a matter of fact, I even came to like big boobs because I was attempting to draw bodies with a softer look. —— J: So you came to like them while challenging yourself to draw a soft look. Kubo: Originally, around the time I was still a student, I liked small boobs better since they were easier to draw. —— J: That would apply to Rukia too. Kubo: But then I thought to myself "man I really suck at drawing a big bust", so when I was drawing "ZOMBIEPOWDER" I firmly decided that "I want to get good at drawing a big bust", once I had observed a sufficient number of big boobs in the hopes of drawing lots of them, I gradually came to like it. —— J: (laughs) Kubo: I won't be able to draw them better unless I like them after all. Since I grew to like them, I think it became possible to draw voluptuous figures with a more racy look. —— J: That is glorious (laughs). I remember quite clearly, some time ago, it was said that Kawashita​ Mizuki sensei is an artist Kubo sensei considers skilled at drawing. Kubo: That's true, it goes without saying that she is skilled, I am fascinated by those who can draw things which in my opinion I wouldn't be able to draw for myself. I can't do line art like Kawashita sensei.

Q.24: When Kubo sensei paints in his colours, does he use Copic markers? Or a graphics tablet?

Kubo: Copic markers. —— J: What about digital painting? Kubo: I can't do digital at all. In the past, there was a period between "ZOMBIEPOWDER" and the serialisation of "BLEACH", I used to challenge myself when I had the time, however I found that I couldn't draw at all like that. I thought "this is hopeless." —— J: You had tentatively challenged yourself right? But these days there are drawing programs like "Jump PAINT". Kubo: It's an app isn't it? These tools are becoming a lot more user-friendly huh. After all, back in those days there was nothing but the likes of "Photoshop" and "Painter". —— J: Nowadays, fellow manga artists will meet up and draw illustrations with their iPads on the spot. Kubo: They meet up and exchange drawings? —— J: They all jointly contribute by setting themes for each other, then start drawing something with their Apple Pencils, apparently these gatherings are really exciting. Kubo: I recently purchased an Apple Pencil. I tried using it, only to find that I was totally incapable of drawing on it . When Jigoku No Misawa and his wife (Matsubara Makoto) last came to visit, Makoto san tinkered around with the Apple Pencil for a little while even though she couldn't draw, she was telling me "if you play around with this thing here then this will happen, you follow?"…. Then it got to the point where I was able to draw on it (laughs). It appears that I'm just useless with devices. I think it would probably be a lot fun if it reached a point where it's more accessible for me though. —— J: When you're drawing on an iPad, you're drawing on glass, so the sensation of drawing on paper isn't the sensation being transmitted to your hand. Although, it appears that recently they started selling screen protectors which make you feel like you're drawing on paper. Kubo: I would be able to draw with something that feels like an actual pencil, that's insane don't you think!? Well, I'm slowly running out of reasons not to work digitally (laughs). But, the biggest reason is that my eyes tire. That's why I wear glasses that cut off blue light when I play video games. I would have to wear those glasses the whole time when it comes to drawing digitally right? Given that it would end up altering my perception of colours, on second thought, I feel it would be too difficult to work with digital as my main art medium.

Q.25: Please tell us the approximate duration of time it takes to go from rough draft to one page of a manuscript. I also draw manga and illustrations so I'm very interesting to know. I'm looking forward to your response!

Kubo: In my case, my storyboards become my rough drafts as it stands, so it's a question of how I should go about calculating time. If we're speaking with regard to the time it takes for the drawing process, it depends on what's on the page itself after all. And considering the fact that I was getting through fifteen pages a day during the series…. —— J: Is the duration of that time used for inking your sketches? Kubo: Yes. At my slowest I spent 8 hours for fifteen pages. Therefore, it would be roughly 30 minutes for one page. —— J: That's insanely fast (laughs). Kubo: However, midway through the series, I felt it was a detriment to my health, so I asked if I could have the number of my pages decreased. That made things much easier. From there I worked through thirteen pages a day. I would spend a day and a half inking my sketches, but I would always reserve just four pages for the other 'half'. Somehow I manage, or to be more precise it may be down to the fact that I am forced to finish with great momentum if there are four pages remaining. —— J: Do you prefer to compose your pages in a sequential order? Kubo: Yes, I feel more excited about it that way. I too want to get charged up along with the climax of the story in my manga (laughs). If I first start drawing a scene that takes place after the end of the climax, I don't get excited for some reason. As a result, when the distribution of my pages is poor, I'll end up continuing with the scene thinking "this is wearing me out", but then my thoughts become something like "if I can overcome this, I'll be able to draw some great faces!" I did my page distribution chronologically in order enjoy the drawing process. —— J: It's an intuitive method but makes sense nonetheless.

Q.26: What do you do when you're at an impasse with regard to material for the story? In addition, please tell us what you place the greatest importance on when drawing manga.

Kubo: Whilst drawing I'm already thinking about the next chapter, so I don't really find myself at an impasse much when it comes to material. During the series, I would construct my storyboards in accordance with the course of events, then I would start inking and at the same time would have devised the following chapter. —— J: Some illustrations are for coloured title pages, some are almost a kind of continuation of the story, and others are poster illustrations that have no relation to the story at all. How do you decide which one of these to do when you're drawing your storyboards? Kubo: On the occasions I get to create coloured title pages, I bear it in mind when I think "this is the sort of painting style I want to do next", and by the time I get around to making a coloured illustration I feel like I can compose any one of those things. Whenever I didn't have the luxury of time, I would search for painting techniques in a short span of time (laughs). —— J: This Gremmy illustration (JET volume 1, p.277) exudes quite a malevolent atmosphere, but is this the painting style you were attempting to go for? Kubo: I think I wanted to go for a creepy feel, I painted it using a brush and my fingers. —— J: So you start by having some idea of a painting style. Kubo: Well, I think that applies to pretty much everyone (laughs). —— J: By the way, roughly how long does it take for you to think about the composition of each arc in "BLEACH"? Kubo: It's more or less determined at the introduction of the arc. Around halfway through the Arrancar arc, I participated in a stage event at Jump Festa, there I was asked "how much longer will 'BLEACH' continue?" I said "I will draw two more arcs and then it's complete." So, setting aside the length of the story, at that point in time, I would have been deciding the endings five chapters into the arcs. —— J: I see…. So then, I wonder what you place great importance on in terms of drawing manga? Kubo: What comes to mind when asked about an area I place great importance on, or rather, an area I'm 'particular' about, is how to lay down the foreshadowing. I compose the foreshadowing element by dividing it into stages, but since this element in itself is explained in the novelisations through text, I won't talk about the 'stages' here. Nevertheless, I believe the things you discover on the first reading are not foreshadowing to begin with but rather an ice breaker, or to be more precise something like a freebie I give away to readers that says "please anticipate things to come from these depictions in the near future!" After the big reveal you go back to read it again at which point you're able to say "so this was foreshadowed!?" Now that in my opinion, is foreshadowing. There are two reasons for this, one, I like thriller movies, though do you sometimes have predictions that you've made midway through those thrillers, I mean ones that completely hit the mark by the conclusion? —— J: It happens every once in a while. Kubo: I hate that, I think to myself "if it's supposed to be foreshadowing, then keep the reveal hidden properly!" and "surprise me with the reveal why don't you!" (laughs), second, I think a great amusement of the manga or rather the storytelling, is that after enjoying the main story you get to debate with friends that it's "neither this way, nor that." —— J: Indeed it is exciting to exchange differences in interpretation with friends. Kubo: If those debates are the most exciting part, then I hope when people discover new bits of foreshadowing after looking back on works they've grown to love, that they get to experience an indescribable feeling in the moment they made that discovery. I think "BLEACH" could also be one of these much loved works, so I wanted to set it up in a way where each time one would reread the story there would be a new discovery, and then a sense of joy which can only be savoured by those who have reread the story many times over.

Q.27: On the inside cover of volume 27, sensei talked about packaging [of an iPod] and book jackets, but in truth the paperback volumes of "BLEACH" already had a reputation for its exceedingly cool look. Is there an aspect you are particular about in your design and style choices even now? I would like for sensei to comment on attaining strong aesthetic preferences.

Kubo: I like design in itself, so although It's not the case that I'm particularly conscious of it, I'm always picky about it nonetheless. After creating the original format for "BLEACH" paperbacks, I was thinking to use the same one until the very end, therefore you will only find minor changes throughout. So when it came time to publish volume 1, I thought "I want to give it an aesthetic that's different from other comics." This means things like all the front page poems, and drawing the huge volume titles on the front cover. Even though I would buy Jump Comics all the time, I never realised there was volume titles, when I was asked "what would you like to do for the volume title?" by Jump Comics editorial staff, I thought "why doesn't anyone use volume titles in their design?", as a result I decided to use volume titles in my own. —— J: you have a point, it usually only appears in small lettering above the title of the work. Kubo: Exactly. I always think "what a terrible waste." If you don't make use of it design-wise, then contrary to expectations, the presence of the volume title will end up interfering with the cover art won't it? —— J: Even the designers among these questions have reputed "BLEACH" to have an aesthetic that's different from other comics.

Q.28: Within the story of "BLEACH", I believe there was a many number of instances where you depicted members of the cast in a heroic last stand or momentarily on the verge of death, but what are you conscious of within yourself when expressing a character's 'death'? Is there anything you pay extra attention to?

Kubo: It's the timing. It's either something like "this is still not the right place to kill him off" or "it's ideal for this character to be killed off here." It's not a question of luck as far as the characters are concerned, but rather a question of whether or not it goes along with their characteristics. The side that survives is certain to have good fortune after all. I reckon the scene where Ulquiorra fades away also matches his nature. —— J: Is there any character who ended up dead even though you hadn't originally planned to do so? Kubo: Not off the top of my head, I think not. It's the same for the reverse too. Grimmjow is pretty much the only exception. Grimmjow originally lived as long as he did because I didn't come up with his death scene, but I think he would be dead if I had decided as far ahead as that death scene. I would probably be thinking "this way of dying is the coolest!" and because of that, I think I would have killed him off since I want there to be a cool aspect in my depictions. Although my depictions can give the impression that 'this person looks to be on the point of death here', my thinking is "I still want to make this character do so-and-so after this" and I don't let them die. —— J: Izuru was still alive with pipes attached to the hole in his chest after all. Kubo: About that, after thinking "there are gaps in the hole on Izuru's chest, if the moon could be seen through there, that would be super cool!" I really wanted to draw that. When he was revived in a zombie-like state, the staging of the scene where the moon was visible, is to make it appear as if the moon was actually in Izuru's possession. For that alone I put him on the verge of death for a time and then let him survive. —— J: So from a choreography viewpoint, there are times you like to think outside the box for characters that are made to survive. Kubo: Given that I'm fairly passionate about choreography, there's something about it that makes me go like "I want to draw this scene, let's do it!" —— J: By the way on the topic of Izuru, 10 years later is he still alive? Kubo:  I suppose he's ‘alive’. Which reminds me, I didn't draw Izuru 10 years later…. He would be too pitiful if he was dead, so I consider him alive (laughs).

Q.29: Compared to when the series first began 15 years ago, what is the thing that underwent the biggest change?

Kubo: The biggest change in terms of the work, is my art style!

Q.30: I was surprised by the fact that two characters appeared on the final volume cover only. On LINELive, voice actor Morita san said "it is a truly fitting illustration for the last volume", I also thought indeed that is true. That the two individuals from the beginning of the story would bring it to a close, is very typical of "BLEACH" I think. What sort of thoughts did Kubo sensei have after drawing Ichigo and Rukia for the final volume cover?

Kubo: The story originally began with these two, so I thought I should try to end it with these two as well. Since I already knew how many volumes the final stages of the series would end with, I began assigning "this character to appear on the cover with this volume…", I could draw characters who were not able to appear on the front cover for a while, such as Uryū and Renji, but I wondered if I could put Ichigo and Rukia together on the final one. Given that it's been a single person per cover the whole time, I then grew to wonder if it would also exude a special feeling if I put the two individuals on the last cover alone. Those two are the faces that represent "BLEACH" after all. "BLEACH" didn't start with just Ichigo, neither did it start with just Rukia.

Translator’s notes:

“The Devil’s Dictionary” by  Ambrose Bierce

The "ha" and “sa” columns refer to part of the Japanese syllabary table

Quote from BLEACH volume 27 “I bought an iPod the other day. [...] The best part was the packaging, I couldn’t bring myself to throw away the acrylic case my iPod came in even though i have no use for it. I hope someday I could create a bokk jacket so good that no one can throw it away.” Tite Kubo.

[mtvswatches]

Crazy Ex Girlfriend 4x17 I’m In Love

Click here for previous recaps!

Stray thoughts

1) So… they’re doing a big reveal where Rebecca will tell who she has chosen right in front of everyone they know? Now I’m kind of hoping she chooses herself (although please please let her be with Greg!) because if she is about to choose one of the guys then she’ll be breaking the other two’s hearts in a very uncalled for manner…

2) Oh, Tim, what’s going on with your life, dude? First, the vibrator song, and now he’s happy not to be spending Valentine’s day with his wife…?

3) Dream ghost!!! Because Rebecca, in true Rebecca fashion, had another poop attack and fell asleep on the toilet… Dream Ghost is going to tell her about her future. Will we get to see what Rebecca thinks her life will be like if she chooses each of the three men in her life?

4) Oh!!! This is her future!!!

5)  That was a cheap trick, show. You got me. Because she’s now imagining her future with Nathaniel and Josh…

…and she’s not entirely happy in any of them.

5) Oh, god, I knew going into this I’d be an emotional wreck but I wasn’t expecting to be crying by minute 6. There’s just something about watching Rebecca shouting in her own face, demanding to know why she’s not happy. I think I know the answer. I think she just has to choose herself, I think the title of this episode is about Rebecca finally choosing to love herself first and foremost, and above all.

6) And she got the answer, straight from the horse’s mouth…

REBECCA: Tell me. Huh? Tell me why you're so sad. Why aren't you happy with Greg? Huh? I mean, what's wrong with him?

REBECCA 2: There's nothing wrong with Greg. Or Nathaniel or Josh. They're all wonderful.

REBECCA: Okay, then why am I not happy, with any of them? Don't… don't I love them?

REBECCA: You do love them. The problem is, you don't know who you are.

7) Is working at that firm the best fit for Paula if she can’t take the cases she wants to take?

8) Hmmmm.

JOSH: I just want to be in love. Get married, have babies. I'm ready now. She has to pick me.

This really sounds like Rebecca could be replaceable. He’s not talking about wanting or imagining all of these things with her, he just wants them.

9) George has great plans for his future. He’s growing a ponytail. Nathaniel, on the other hand, seems to have nothing going for him except the possibility of Rebecca choosing him. I kind of wish they had brought up the fact that he was bored with his job before the finale?

10) I love them. I’m gonna miss them so much.

11)  I loved this!

There had been some references to how Rebecca creates the musical numbers in her mind but never had we seen if the other characters were aware of what she does or how they react to it. it was a small moment, but it felt like a huge pay-off for four seasons of storytelling in the form of musical comedy.

12) This medley ruined me…

I was a sobbing mess all throughout, I was crying and trying to sing along, and each song brought up so many memories and feelings. I knew I wasn’t emotionally ready for this episode, but damn, I really wasn’t ready.

But thankfully, I also laughed…

13) OMG TIME JUMP!!! And we can tell thanks to George’s lustrous ponytail!!

So her big decision has nothing to do with choosing one of the guys? But what happened on Valentine’s day a year ago?! And everyone’s there except for Nathaniel, Josh, and Greg, or so it seems...

14) Good for you, Valencia!

15) April adopted Hebecca, and she and Darryl are having a baby!

16) Was… Rebecca… masturbating in the hot tub?

I wouldn’t put it past her, and we know Hector is already very acquainted with how much she enjoys self-gratification, but this would be going too far, even for her…

But… let me say that as much as I love the joke, I can help but feel that Heather was underused even in the finale.

17) I did really enjoy the whole back-and-forth between White Josh and Rebecca. She had no idea what had been going on in his life – two massive fires, apparently – and he admitted to never quite liking her, which is absolutely true.

18) Now, this is what earns a “Respect” as a response…

PAULA: The thing is, is, uh and I say this with so much affection, um, either we do this, or I quit.

BOSS: What?

PAULA: I love this job. But I am not gonna walk around with a hole in my heart because there are people out there who need me and I'm sitting up here on my ass in a fancy suit. I have to be true to who I am inside. So. Thanks. I loved it here. Bye.

BOSS: Paula, wait. Let's talk.

19) Nooo. It can’t be him. It has to mean something else…

Which brings us to another person. The person I care about very much. And he's really the reason I'm here. Josh Chan.

I really hope it only means that he’s the one who gave her the courage to find out who she is or something, or I’ll be pissed off.

20) OH THANK GOD! It wasn’t him.

21) $80 dollars a month, Rebecca? I guess she still continues to be terrible with money.

22)  Josh has a girlfriend. I hope he doesn’t mess it up this time.

23) And it’s Nathaniel’s turn now…

NATHANIEL: You don't, you don't have to explain. You only get one life. And you got to live that the way you want. I think everyone deserves that.

I’m really proud of Nathaniel. He truly came such a long way, and even if they are not together, his love for Rebecca had such a wonderful impact on him – he became a better version of himself because of it. I was absolutely floored by how mature and understanding he was, I wanted to hug him so badly.

And he quit his job and he got a job at the ZOO! TALK ABOUT A DREAM COME TRUE!

24) it’s fUCKING GREG’S MOMENT AND I’M NOT READY FOR THIS.

25) What a wonderful moment!

PAULA: What are you doing?

REBECCA: Uh, sorry, nothing, nothing.

PAULA: No, that's not nothing. That's You're staring off into space, like you do. You do that a lot. What's happening when you do that?

REBECCA: I don't want to tell you. It's weird.

PAULA: Oh, come on, any weirder than the many, many weird things you and I have done since we met?

REBECCA: I've just… I don't know I've never told anybody, except for the Dream Ghost and Dr. Phil.

PAULA: What?

REBECCA: What the hell? Okay. When I stare off into space, I'm imagining myself in a musical number. That's how I sometimes see big moments in my life, as musical numbers. And because I do that, so does the show. And by show, I mean the very popular BPD workbook acronym, "Simply Having Omniscient Wishes.” So, yeah, I see myself in these songs.

26) Paula is suggesting that Rebecca should write down the songs that she creates in her mind and that’s what I’ve been saying all along!!!

27) Oh my god, here come the waterworks again…

What an amazing reprise and what a great way to bookend the story! I’m crying but I swear these are happy tears! It’s been such a long time since Paula and Rebecca stood holding each other’s hands outside a party and singing about how Rebecca should go after Josh. And here they are, still holding each other up through thick and thin and being each other’s person. It’s such an amazing moment for so many reasons. I can’t help but be in awe at such a wonderful portrayal of female friendship. It’s amazing that the person that helped Rebecca figured out what she wanted to do was Paula. It wasn’t Josh or Nathaniel or Greg. It wasn’t her therapist or her mother. It was her best friend, the person that’s seen her at her best and her worst and has accepted for the wonderful, weird, chaotic mess that she is. This scene also conveys a much more important and impactful message – that all you need is, well, you. It’s all right inside you. You just have to be ready to find yourself.

28) Oh, the wonderful, wonderful callback!

29) And her break-up with Greg did not feel like a break-up at all. She was basically telling him that she couldn’t be with him right then. And even though he said he wouldn’t wait, he’s still single… I swear to god, I’ve been dreaming of a Settle for Me reprise, and if they deliver one I’ll probably die.

30) It was so fun to see Rebecca working hard and learning how to sing and play instruments and write lyrics. But this part was what really got to me…

REBECCA: I came to this town to find love, and I did. I love every person in this room. Each and every one of you.

I’m so happy she finally realized that! That’s what I’ve been saying all along. She’d always been so worried about finding one person or one thing that would make her truly happy, and there were so many people and so many things that did it for her and she just couldn’t see it.

31) Oh, wow…

32) What a wonderful ending to a wonderful series! It truly was everything that I had hoped for and more. I really wanted the end of the show to be about Rebecca, self-love, and self-awareness, and the show delivered that in such a beautiful and moving way. I know I’ll cry every single time I listen to that medley! I was kind of concerned about the heavy emphasis on the rom-com aspect of the show in the last few episodes, but I’m really glad that was put on the back burner and it was left kind of open-ended – although I’m positive wherever she is, she’ll end up with Greg. This weird, wonderful show has meant a lot to me, and I can’t wait to revisit this story. I’m glad Rachel and Alina got to tell their story the way they envisioned it, and I think it was a terrific idea to end the story sort of media res – just when Rebecca was about to start a new chapter of her life.

I’m too emotional right now to properly convey exactly how much this show means to me and how impactful and groundbreaking I thought it was for many different reasons, but I’m certain the legacy of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend will live on, and I truly can’t wait to see what the wonderfully talented people behind it have in store for us in the future. I know it will be wicked good.

Goodbye, Rebecca. Goodbye, West Covina. It’s been a wonderful journey!

 32)  Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi.Thanks!

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Why I don’t like the current direction for J. Jonah Jameson

Let me start by saying I love Jonah’s character a lot so I’m not trying to make him out to be a bad character in this.

 I know a lot of people like it and regard going back on it as regression but hear me out.

 I do not know that Jonah hating Spider-Man is necessarily better or worse than what we have now.

 My objections are that how we got to this point and Jonah’s general attitude is....really nonsensical.

 Frankly one of the worst things a storyteller can do is write characters out of character. Sure there can be small missteps which can be forgiven, but in this case Spider-Man unmasking to Jonah and his genera reaction to learning that truth is simply not how these characters would ever act in the context of that situation. And we know this because in case you have forgotten...we’ve been here before.

 Once upon a time before Jonah ever knew Peter was Spider-Man we could only honestly speculate on how he would react.

 However anyone believed or theorised he might take that news, there was little-no stories that really gave you a hard idea about that. There was no precedence at all or anything that could maybe give us a clue to how he’d react.

 And the big question at the heart of how he might react was whether Jonah’s hatred for Spider-Man was more powerful than any affection he held for Peter Parker.

 In 2006-2007 as part of the Civil War event we got the answer to that question and therefore got precedence for how Jonah would react to learning Peter’s secret.

 And the answer was quite clear, Jonah’s hatred for Spidey WAS stronger than his affection for Peter. Your personal headcanons prior to that story do not matter, it was established as part of actual canon Spider-Man stories that this was how Jonah felt and reacted.

 There could be some leeway if Jonah’s reaction was wildly out of character, like if there were older stories heavily defining him in such a way that his reaction didn’t add up.

 But the thing was...most older stories supported how he reacted. His reaction DID make sense.

 I’m not saying it would have been unbelievable for Jonah to have been in some way sympathetic towards Peter, but frankly it was just much more likely that Jonah’s hatred of Spidey would win out.

 If we take a look at Jonah’s history with Spider-Man it isn’t the case that over time he could be viewed as almost obsessed with him and having something of a vendetta against him. He simply WAS obsessed with him and DID have a vendetta, he had a great big Spider-Man blindspot and mental trigger that rarely ever allowed him to NOT get angry about Spider-Man and NOT slander him or contort the truth against him.

 This isn’t the by-product of lazy and repetitive writing over many decades either. This is simply Jonah’s ACTUAL character. He was like that in the 1960s when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko were writing him! they even went to far as to provide a basic motivation for WHY Jonah felt as he did: jealousy.  Even if you wanted to say that was just zany 1960s writing that wasn’t all that realistic and as nuanced as later standards, the fact is Jonah was consistent in that portrayal in the 1970s and the 1980s. In the 1980s even when acclaimed and beloved Spider-Man writers like Roger Stern, Tom DeFalco and Peter David wrote Jameson, giving him more layers, making him more sympathetic and a core of human decency, he STILL had a great big Spider-Man hate boner.

 In the 1960s for absolutely no justifiable reason he began a smear campaign against Spider-Man ruining his show business career and that was his intention. He funded the creation of super villains and spider slayers (who endangered public safety, which Jonah never seemed to consider beforehand) and continued doing so well into the 1980s. He didn’t even publicly own up to creating Scorpion until the 1980s when he was being blackmailed into keeping it quiet. Jameson funded the second Mysterio to dress up like a known criminal, drive Spider-Man out of his mind and skipped town when Mysterio was jailed to avoid any consequences. And throughout his career he near consistently smeared Spider-Man’s name deliberately engaging in libellous distortions of the truth to paint him in as negative a light as possible.

 Jonah CLEARLY had serious mental issues with Spider-Man. And no one just gets over that as quickly (if at all) meaning Jonah’s reaction in Civil War made a lot of sense and his reaction Zdarsky’s run outright unbelievable for how humans simply act.

 Systemically throughout all his Spider-Man hate campaigns, for all the affection he might have had for Peter he really wasn’t the best of friends he could have been to him. Even though he was a kid, even though he knew his uncle was dead and his aunt was old and sickly Jonah routinely continued to underpay Peter, insult him and scream his head off at him. True, he did this with almost everyone, but that doesn’t change the fact that he still did this. In the 1960s he put on a show of kindness towards Peter and his aunt at his graduation specifically to convince Peter to stay with the Bugle so he wouldn’t lose any money.

 Yes later on in say the 1990s he secretly paid for Peter’s legal defence during the Clone Saga and offered him a staff job at the Bugle. But none of that renders his negative reaction in Civil War unbelievable. Like I said it was just a case of did he care more about Peter than he hated Spider-Man and we learned that no he didn’t. This is corroborated in Brand New Day.

 During the former, Jonah got Peter blacklisted from being a photographer after Peter doctored some photos to exonerate Jonah of a crime he didn’t commit. Now it was very OOC for Peter to do that in the first place, but Jonah’s reaction wasn’t. Jonah was furious with Peter faking photos of Spider-Man and Electro being one and the same in the 1960s he intended to fire Peter and in spite of his youth intended to actually SUE him (further supporting his reaction in Civil War). Jonah very publicly humiliated and screwed over Peter, destroying Peter’s primary/only source of income. And he did this whilst knowing Peter had limited income and technically via marriage being Peter’s relative. He didn’t try to help Peter after the fact either. Indirectly due to Jonah Peter got a job at HORIZON labs but that was ONLY because Marla recognized his talent and helped get his foot in the door. Jonah after Marla’s death tried to shut down HORIZON labs and thereby by extension destroy another of Peter’s jobs. For Jonah his grief over Marla’s death along with his hypocritical journalistic ethics were MORE important than any affection he held for Peter Parker. They were absolutely not closer after their parental figures got married. IIRC Jonah even blamed Peter for his father’s death but correct me if I have got that wrong.

 But lets return to Civil War.

 During Civil War, Jonah slandered Peter in the presses and sued him. He didn’t care that this was his friend, a young man he’s known most of his life, who’s been through much pain and tragedy who as Spider-Man has saved his life repeatedly along with his family members, friends and staff. He was angry at being humiliated by him and felt betrayed, but amidst all this he first and foremost saw him as that menace Spider-Man who got one over on him, not as the decent kid he knew who must not actually be the menace he thought he was.

 As if suing him was not bad enough, Jonah went further. He sought out Peter’s old girlfriend Deb Whitman when she was out of work and her mother was seriously ill and exploited her by providing an author to write a biased, twisted account of her relationship with Peter Parker/Spider-Man in order to further tear him down in the public eye.

 When his close friend Joe Robertson called Jonah out for continuing to punch down on the now fugitive Peter Parker when his aunt was in the hospital, Jonah fired him.

 Furthermore in Peter David’s final issue of Friendly Nieghborhood Spider-Man Peter and Jonah confront one another in the wake of Peter’s identity going public. Peter allows Jonah to hit him as much as he likes to get his anger out and insults him to get him to react. Jonah repeatedly punched Peter in the face! Now sure, he did admit that it was easier to hate Spider-Man when he didn’t know he was Peter, but that wasn’t him saying he DIDN’T hate him. Again...he hit him repeatedly in the face.

And on top of that the issue ends with Jonah

a)    Admitting that he was only dropping his lawsuit and smear campaign because he realized Peter on some level wanted to be punished for his mistakes and Jonah didn’t like being used

b)    Admitting that he doesn’t mind tearing down and humiliating Peter/Spider-Man so long as Peter doesn’t help him to do it

c)    Literally saying and I quote: “I really hate that F.N. Spider-Man.”

 Pretty clear cut ain’t it.

 Jonah’s hate for Spider-Man>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Jonah’s affection for Peter.

 So when we find ourselves at this point in time where Jonah finds out Peter is Spider-Man and IIRC pretty much immediately reacts by becoming an ally and confidant to Peter, viewing him first and foremost as his friend Peter Parker and not the menace he believed Spider-Man to be, he is very aggressively NOT in character. He is very aggressively NOT acting the way his established characetrization dictates he would act in that situation.

 This stuff isn’t a minor little back up story, it was a big part of TWO concurrent ongoing event stories (Civil War-Back in Black). You can’t ignore this stuff.

 There are those who would say that Jonah’s situation in Zdarsky’s run is different so his different reaction is justified. The problem with this is that you can’t just handwave any given difference in context as justifying any different reaction, they have to add up.

 So would Jonah when his wife is dead, when he’s lost the Bugle, lost his major public respect, lost his father, lost his adoptive daughter and straight up admits that his hatred for Peter is ALL he has in his life REALLY react more positively and sympathetically to learning Peter is Spider-Man than he did when his fortunes were the exact opposite of all of that.*

 Absolutely not! That is wholly unrealistic.

 If all he has in his life IS his outright pathological hatred for Spider-Man then suddenly finding out Spider-Man is the guy he partially blames for the death of his father, didn’t like that much, ripped off for years and whom he cared so little for he took away his source of work even though he HELPED Jonah, would never ever make Jonah DROP his hatred.

 If Jonah reacted the way he did in Civil War when his life was going well then he’d react WORSE nowdays when it’s going worse!

 Then we come to Peter revealing his identity in the first place.

 This is aggressively stupid and even more out of character than Jonah’s opposite reaction during Civil War.

 Given Jonah’s pathological crusade against Peter, given how Jonah blacklisted him, tried to further destroy him during Civil War, JJJ’s funding robots and super villains and just everything he knows about Jonah, its both irresponsibly risky to his loved ones and wholly unrealistic for Peter to EVER reveal his secret to Jonah.

 Consider ALL the people Peter knows who have proven themselves more friendly, trustworthy and over all loyal to him whom he DIDN’T reveal his identity to.

 Flash Thompson

Betty Brant

Aunt Anna

Joe Robertson

Felicia Hardy (before she went psycho in Slott’s run)

Oh and you know AUNT MAY!

 ALL of those people had proven their friendship and loyalty to Peter when they used to know his identity and for some of them even before that.

 But he didn’t, and in some cases, has continued to keep them all in the dark...but he told Jonah?!

 That’s incredibly out of character and nuclear levels illogical. It makes even less sense than you know...Jonah not remembering that he USED to know Peter’s identity. Remember how Slott established that unmasking in front of someone would immediately restore their memories from before the Mindwipe? Well guess what, Zdarsky et al just IGNORED that for Jonah because that’s just wonderful writing right there.

 I get that Jonah going back to not knowing would be a regression. I get that this new direction is new and fresh because it’s never been done before.

 But the thing is regression isn’t always a bad thing and something new and fresh isn’t always a good thing.

 In the Clone Saga Peter had developed into a grimdark mentally broken anti hero which was something never done before. It was executed competently in so far as it was realistic, made sense and had a lot of thematic and psychological layers to it. And it was new, shiny and fresh!. But is anyone really going to argue that regressing him back to being the mentally stable more optimistic Spider-Man was a BAD thing?

 No.

 I’m not saying regressing Jonah back to not knowing would be a good thing, but I am saying his characterization after he found out was a bad thing because this is not who he is. If another story tried to better explain and justify it in some way, maybe.

 But frankly I find the entire idea that Jonah would so quickly pull a 180 on his decades long attitude to Spider-Man frankly BS.

   *What is worse is that the story itself outright ignores the fact that Jonah HASN’T lost everything in his life, he still has his pride and joy his son John. For years Jonah persevered thanks to and for his son John, with implications that it was because of his son John being overlooked that he hated Spider-Man in the first place. So Jonah hasn’t even lost everything as he claims!

Also Jonah hated Spider-Man back when the only relative he had was his son!

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/23 & 10/25/2018: HALLOWEEN (2007) & HALLOWEEN II (2009)

By the time Rob Zombie made the bold move of remaking John Carpenter’s name-making classic HALLOWEEN, the horror rock-star’s directorial career had already proved to be incredibly divisive. His 2003 film debut, HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES drew a cult from among diehard fans of his music, but was largely panned by critics who identified it as a ramshackle, self-indulgent disaster. The movie was little more than a Frankensteining-together of Zombie’s favorite things, but he managed to follow it up swiftly with 2005′s semi-sequel, THE DEVIL’S REJECTS. With this project, he appropriated three of the principle characters from his cartoony, ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW-like first feature, and reimagined them as the redneck antiheroes of a story that plays like a cross between THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and THE WILD BUNCH. While DEVIL’S REJECTS showed major improvements in terms of drive and focus, it still felt unsettled. It is an emotionally confused movie that has trouble deciding whether its tale is more tragic for the innocent victims of its psychopathic protagonists, or more triumphant, for the Rejects’ anti-establishment swagger and charisma. Rob Zombie displays a refined aesthetic sense, and seems sincere in his storytelling, but he didn’t have much time to let these things ferment into a more potent cinematic brew before he stepped up to bat again with his controversial remake of the beloved HALLOWEEN in 2007. 

Reviled even by the likes of John Carpenter himself, Zombie’s dour, ponderous retelling of the archetypal slasher story was baffling to critics and genre buffs alike. Loaded up with clunky psychoanalysis that flies in the face of Carpenter’s original intention--Michael Myers is PURE NO-REASON EVIL, FULL STOP--this iteration of HALLOWEEN worked for few people besides Zombie’s hardcore stans. In spite of that very large and general problem, the writer-director was back again in 2009 with a sequel to his own remake. With HALLOWEEN II, he took two major creative risks: Bringing the ubiquitous Sheri Moon Zombie back even though her character died early in the first film, and centering the narrative on Laurie Strode’s psychological recovery, or lack thereof, from her original ordeal. It is easy to see how this setup would draw more complex and ambivalent responses. Mrs. Zombie’s appearance as the ghost of Myers’ mother, whose character is plagued by a lot of Jungian nonsense, was identified fairly as ludicrous by many viewers. On the other hand, Scout Taylor-Compton’s return as Laurie Strode takes a character who was little more than a cardboard cutout in the first film, and turns her into a convincing mass of trauma who undergoes a profound transformation over the course of this sequel. As with THE DEVIL’S REJECTS, HALLOWEEN II suggests that even while Rob Zombie can be an incredibly frustrating filmmaker, he still seems to be on to something. Even in my most stuck-up moments, when his smug use of slow motion and arias of unshocking cuss words make me want to forget everything I just watched, his movies nag at me in a way that I have a hard time describing.  I’m just now starting to formulate an understanding of why.

Often, I find myself asking: Who is Rob Zombie? First and foremost, he is a professional nerd. His music, art, videos, and feature films are strung together by his scholarship in all things genre, whether he’s invoking Tobe Hooper’s snuff-like realism, or the innocent sitcom pleasures of the Munsters. Zombie is vastly erudite about horror, and really anything remotely culty. This is actually to the detriment of HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES, which is so bloated with pop culture references that it almost chokes out the movie’s dubious originality. But while he has that irritating nerdy compulsion to competitively show off what he knows, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who buys and bags comics without even cracking them open. Rob Zombie is clearly, legitimately passionate; it’s heartwarming, and enough to make you want to root for him even when you don’t totally love what he’s doing. His craftsmanship is on point, too, as a multimedia artist whose talent has been abundantly evident since the early band flyer days. It comes as no surprise that he attended Parsons School of Design, and he occasionally shows his hand as an amateur film historian with a love for golden age Hollywood. So, whatever he wants you to think about his hellbilly stage presence, he’s clearly no hick, and no basement-dwelling dweeb either. He’s an educated artist with a background in New York City’s brainy ‘80s noise rock scene. It’s because of this that I find the worshipful attitude his films take toward their sociopathic murderers to be, well...kind of annoying. Why am I supposed to think it’s so cool, as the movies’ punk rock tone suggests, that the Firefly family tortures random bystanders to death for no apparent reason? Why doesn’t Rob Zombie know how tired the whole “scary clown” thing is, and has been for a long time already, even when it’s someone as magical as Sid Haig under the greasepaint? Why do I feel like Zombie’s interest in pimps and ho’s is deeper than just exploitation pastiche, which makes it potentially worse than if it were just a shallow affectation? The thought of this Massachusetts-born college boy fantasizing obsessively about being so crude and violent and salt-of-the-earth is kind of lame. So, instead of just, you know, being a hater as usual, I looked it up--and discovered that Rob Zombie’s roots are actually in the fairway. As Wikipedia aggregates from various interviews: 

While raising their sons, Rob's parents worked in a carnival, but they chose to leave after a riot broke out and tents were set on fire. Zombie recalled the experience in an interview, stating, "Everybody's pulling out guns, and you could hear guns going off. I remember this one guy we knew, he was telling us where to go, and some guy just ran up to him and hit him in the face with a hammer – just busted his face wide open. My parents packed up real quick, and we took off."

Suddenly, it all started to make sense. Sure, the costumed popstar isn’t an undead cross between Jerry Lee Lewis and Charles Starkweather in real life, but he isn’t a complete poseur either. It isn’t immediately clear, from underneath his mountain of collectory movie references, that he is, more or less, writing what he knows. He isn’t just emulating his cultural heroes, he’s mythologizing his own childhood. 

In view of this, the key to Rob Zombie’s movies is not an awareness of horror history and semiology; it’s actually all about outlaw culture. So, back to 2007′s deeply flawed HALLOWEEN. It’s a heavily bro-y movie, in its outsidery way, that breaks up the Dr. Loomis-Michael Myers-Laurie Strode love triangle, and focuses almost entirely on building a Myers biography. The fascinatingly sullen Daeg Neergaard Faerch plays young Michael, a fatherless boy on the verge of snapping from the relentless torment coming at him from all directions: his slutty sister, school bullies who fixate on his stripper mom (Sheri Moon Zombie), and his mother’s latest violent, depraved boyfriend. Michael follows the serial killer script perfectly, graduating rapidly from torturing animals to brutalizing other kids to annihilating his sister, her boyfriend, and his mother’s beau one Halloween night when his sibling chooses sex over taking her little brother trick-or-treating. He soon finds himself installed in a mental institution where he moves on to slaughtering the staff. Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) spends years evaluating the boy, though he is ultimately stymied by Michael’s profound lack of humanity. As Michael increasingly retreats behind the folksy homemade masks he spends all day crafting, the opportunistic Loomis gives up on him, instead committing his energy to a money-making true crime/pop psychology book about Myers. Flashing forward, we find the hulking adult Michael Myers (played by the 6′8″ wrestler Tyler Mane) getting ready to bust out of the asylum and wage war on his home town of Haddonfield. There we finally meet teen dream Laurie Strode, a spunky babysitter with a gaggle of gal pals who are perfect grist for the slasher mill. In the final leg of the film, Myers carves his way through Laurie’s social circle, in an apparent attempt to reunite with his sister: Laurie herself. Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) reveals that when Michael’s despairing mother committed suicide years ago, he took her infant daughter and had her adopted out anonymously to insulate her from her family’s tragic history. Laurie, for her part, is unaware of anything other than her need to survive, which she only barely accomplishes.

Naturally, Laurie’s story is the weakest part of a movie that is otherwise so focused on male experience. That is, the experience of needing a father, the ambivalent and ambiguous craving for maternal intimacy, the trauma of having your masculinity impugned by your (fag-obsessed) peers, and perhaps even the undermining influence of academia and capitalism on a man’s natural-born strength and worth. When the newly-freed Michael Myers storms through a truck stop to begin his pilgrimage to Haddonfield, and Rob Zombie chooses to accompany this scene with Rush’s regal outlaw anthem “Tom Sawyer”, it tells you everything you need to know about this take on HALLOWEEN. Like the rampaging Firefly family in DEVIL’S REJECTS, Michael is certainly evil, but he also represents something essential about the formation of and reinforcement of one’s individuality in the face of castrating societal norms--something the carnies among whom Rob Zombie grew up would have found very relatable.

It’s worth noting here that, while the sexuality of the women in Michael’s life plays a role in his distorted development, he is not reacting to their sexuality in and of itself. Michael Myers is not driven by the kind of covetousness that we associate with the archetypal slasher, who gives sexually frustrated male viewers a vicarious thrill by punishing sluts and teases. Michael’s problem is that his mother and sister’s sexuality contributes to his isolation. His classmates use his mother’s profession against him, and that profession keeps her from being able to tuck him in at night. Similarly, Michael doesn’t get to enjoy Halloween with his family and the other neighborhood kids, because his sister is too busy getting laid. Michael is abandoned, even while he still has a home to return to, an outsider even in his own house. 

This leads me to an important point about why the portion of the movie that is devoted to Laurie's struggle is so ineffective. It is a flaw in the film, but a virtue of the director: Normal, attractive teenagers are not Rob Zombie’s people. He doesn’t even participate in traditional slasher movie misogyny, he’s so far away from thinking about them. His movies are full of badass women who are fully possessed of their sexuality, and who wield it like a weapon against hypocrites and assholes, and this is always shone in a heroic light. Moreover, he delights in casting women of all shapes and ages, often assigning them immense personal power, as in LORDS OF SALEM, an enormously satisfying movie about society’s original persecuted outcasts: witches. Rob Zombie is deeply committed to outsiders, and his definition of them isn’t limited to banal lawbreaking--he also rejects conventional beauty and our cultural obsession with youth. His films are populated by all manner of human beings, and the farther away they are from looking like model material, the more likely it is that they’re meant to be the heroes. On that note, whatever you think of his movies, you have to acknowledge that they are almost never dehumanizing. Zombie is an accomplished actor’s director who gets a full spectrum of emotion out of his performers, and who excels at creating a feeling of camaraderie within his ensemble casts. It is this surprising sweetness, and compassion even for the victims of the villains he lionizes, that makes HALLOWEEN II so peculiarly effective.

If 2007′s HALLOWEEN was a remake on which Rob Zombie couldn’t resist draping some of his personal hangups, HALLOWEEN II is almost a completely original and separate entity from what one thinks of as the franchise started by John Carpenter. In it, Michael Myers is presumed dead but his body is missing--and indeed, his character is missing for much of the movie. We find a disturbed, scarred-up Laurie Strode living with her surviving friend Annie, and Annie’s father, Sheriff Bracket. Laurie is dealing, poorly, with a heavy dose of PTSD. Along with nightmares and flashbacks, she also has trouble just being nice to people, or accepting affection. Annie and her father’s attempts to be charitable with their adoptive family member are no match for Laurie’s increasing surliness and mistrust of the world. Once a good-natured and optimistic young woman, her appearance becomes vagrant-like (curiously similar to Rob Zombie’s own casual look), her attitude is more and more nihilistic, and she develops a drinking problem. I’ve always wanted to see a movie with a slasher-like narrative foundation, but that focuses on aftermath and recovery, and recent gimmicky efforts like FINAL GIRL and LAST GIRL STANDING did absolutely nothing for me. HALLOWEEN II--at least, the superbly-acted Strode part of it--is the movie I’ve been asking for.

The other part of the movie is also interesting--or more specifically, it’s as ballsy as it is flawed. The movie gets off on kind of a bad foot when a title card quotes an obscure psychology text book called The Subconscious Psychosis of Dreams: 

WHITE HORSE - instinct, purity, and the drive of the physical body to release powerful and emotional forces, like rage with ensuing chaos and destruction.

This is the excuse we have for the fact that the ghost of Deborah Myers arrives with a white horse to compel her son to find his sister Laurie Strode, aka Angel Myers, to reunite their family, presumably in the afterlife. Deborah Myers is kind of a spectral cross between Glenda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West, at once welcoming and sinister, drifting in and out of Michael’s consciousness in the company of a sort of ghost of his childhood (Chase White Vaneck, who is no Daeg Faerch honestly). It might be easy to dismiss this anomaly as an expression of Michael’s mental illness, and his desire to experience an idealized version of his youth in which his mother still looks after him--except that later in the movie, during the final standoff, Laurie is shown to be physically affected by these spirits. Maybe the implication is that she and Michael suffer the same psychological ailments, but for them to share such specific hallucinations without speaking is borderline supernatural in and of itself. So, while Sheri Moon Zombie does her best with her impressive force of personality and compelling physical presence, it’s hard to say what this part of the movie serves. When I first saw the film, I was completely outraged by this, not only because it made no sense to me, but because it felt like a cheap ripoff of Sarah Palmer’s similar prophetic visions of a white horse in Twin Peaks. That was all I managed to make of it. 

Today, I still don’t love it, but I have more trouble faulting Rob Zombie for trying to make HALLOWEEN his own, something more than a remake. He also does this by truly letting go of the Shape. The famous William Shatner mask was blown in half by Laurie at the end of the 2007 HALLOWEEN, and scarcely makes much of an appearance in this movie. Michael Myers is a disheveled drifter, literally haunted by his past, whose only real aim is to find a place to belong. It’s sort of funny, in retrospect: When John Carpenter made the first HALLOWEEN, he-by-way-of-Dr. Loomis declared Michael an empty shell of a person, someone who was simply born evil, as reflected by the empty-eyed mask he wears. For some reason, though, a whole legacy of directors just couldn’t resist trying to explain Myers away. The original HALLOWEEN II then says, “Well...what if Michael Myers is on a rampage because LAURIE STRODE IS HIS SISTER? What’s that you say? Why is that a reason to rampage? Ummmm...” And then HALLOWEEN 4 sees him pursuing other young female relations of his, and then in subsequent movies there’s an accursed rune, and druids, and immortality rites, and by the time you get to HALLOWEEN 6 you have this absurd stone soup of bad ideas. It’s a miracle that this franchise became such a thing. Rob Zombie makes the same fundamental mistake, but at least he tries it in the simplest possible way, asserting plainly that Nurture, not Nature, made Michael into a killer. Now, terminally lonely, he’s like a clown waking up in his trailer to find that the carnival left without him. Exiled from mainstream society, he seeks out what remains of his family, who, due to his own violent actions, has grown up more like him than he may have imagined.

I’m not saying I think this was the best thing to do with HALLOWEEN 2. Personally, what I crave in horror movies is something that is farther beyond explanation than this--something that gesturally resembles my life experience, but that plunges past the veil of mundanity into a deeper, darker world of primordial fears and urges, addressing things that unsettle me because I cannot rationalize them. For me, horror is definitionally incomprehensible, and Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN diptych is fundamentally sane. But, I think what I’ve discovered is that these movies are not proper horror movies, in spite of their relentless sadistic violence. They are outlaw fables, with more DNA in common with something like EASY RIDER, than with FRIDAY THE 13TH. It’s funny to watch myself coming to a compassionate understanding of these movies that are themselves about outsiders and rejects who are specifically deprived of understanding. My goal in all this was not so much to convince people of the value of these movies, which one might reject on any number of reasonable counts, but to explain to myself why I keep coming back to them. It isn’t to condescendingly heckle them, and it isn’t just because they’re often handsome-looking, or because they’re so emotionally authentic even when the narrative is less than compelling. It must be because, even when I’ve found him challenging, I can’t help seeing Rob Zombie as a person with vision, someone who heroically eschews common consensus on taste and sense-making--the consensus even among horror fans and his own cinematic heroes--in order to say what makes sense to him personally. Finally, he has begun to make sense to me, too.

[brevoorthistoryofcomics]

So, having read and enjoyed my first three issues of FANTASTIC FOUR, I did what any self-respecting comic book reader would do in that situation: I went back to the drug store just as soon as I could and got more. I had seen that the Fantastic Four were also featured in MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS, and while I had no idea to start with that these were reprints of earlier stories, it wouldn’t have made any difference to me even if I did. So I did another deep dive through the huge bin and came up with three more issues, #58-60. Total cost: fifty cents.

This was a crash course in the formative storytelling of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. By the point that these stories were produced, that creative partnership had already hit the rocks and was sliding towards its eventual disillusionment--in fact, it was an event that happened during the time of these very stories that made Kirby decide to refrain from creating new characters or concepts from Marvel any longer. But all of that was lost on me. I did notice the source listing of the story on the splash page, which I appreciated a great deal. Sometimes, the DC reprints wouldn’t cite their point of origin (and for certain periods, the Marvel ones wouldn’t do this as well.) 

This issue’s cover was a new one not produced by Jack Kirby at all. The Grand Comics Database credits it to Ron Wilson and Joe Sinnott, though I don’t know that I concur on the inker--it doesn’t appear to have the surety of Joe’s work. It’s not a terribly strong piece regardless--the Murder Machine is stiff and awkward, in particular his right arm. But I wasn’t really being picky at this stage--I was just looking to experience a bit more of what the Fantastic Four had to offer. I also didn’t learn for some time that because these stories had been produced when 20 pages was the regular length, two pages had been cut out of these stories during this era of 18 page Marvel tales. I would have been aghast at that notion.In this instance, it’s a subplot page focusing on Crystal and the pregnant Sue Richards that get the axe, though a caption on the subsequent page that referred to it still remained, and baffled me somewhat.

I had encountered the work of Jack Kirby a number of times before this, almost always in passing. He was a ubiquitous figure at DC in the 1970s, his covers always striking and memorable even when I didn’t care about the subject matter of the stories. But as compared with the sort of clean and pristine DC artwork that I most liked, as represented by artists such as Irv Novick or Dick Dillin, Kirby’s work felt harsher and rougher and more uninviting. As with so many fans of the era, while I eventually came to embrace Kirby’s immense talent and imagination as the foremost architect of the Marvel Universe, as a kid I found his work off-putting and a bit out-of-step with what was then considered contemporary artwork. 

As with many of the Marvel books of the 1960s, the plot of this story was relatively thing, all the better to allow for plenty of all-out action and an opportunity for the characters to bounce off of one another. Galactus has returned to Earth and needs the services of the Silver Surfer. He demands that the Surfer be returned to him or else he’ll have no choice but to eat the Earth. The Surfer, though, has come upon Reed’s notes on entering the sub-atomic universe that Psycho-Man had come from. So Reed, Ben and Johnny (without the pregnant Sue) must pursue the Silver Surfer into Sub-Atomica and convince him to come back with them, before the world is destroyed.

But the Surfer, he doesn’t want to go back, and the FF spend so much time fighting with him that they forget to mention that little matter of Galactus wiping everything out if the Surfer doesn’t comply. To make matters worse, Psycho-Man has detected their entrance into his realm, and he unleashes a super-powerful android (something of a staple of the FF yarns of this period) to overcome and destroy them. Meanwhile, Galactus is getting hungrier, and so he’s beginning to power up his cosmic converter. It’s all handled in that operatic style that Stan Lee absolutely perfected, and served up with a dollop of humor, mainly in the form of the assorted wry quips and one-liners that the Thing would make all throughout the adventure. 

As the seconds tick away, and Ben, Johnny and Reed aren’t able to stop Psycho-Man’s rampaging monster, Reed decides to sacrifice himself in order to hold it back long enough for the other two to get away--locating the Surfer and convincing him to go back is of paramount importance. Fortunately for the heroic father-to-be, the Surfer has been secretly watching them this whole time. He dispatches the android practically without lifting a finger. Ashamed of his selfishness, the Surfer takes to the skies, to return to the full-sized universe and save the world from Galactus’ wrath. But the FF don’t follow him--they know that there’s nothing more they can do in that conflict, and while they’re here, they might as well go and pulverize Psycho-Man for his attacks on them and their civilization. S that’s what they set out to do as the issue ends--and I have to say, I loved the somewhat-mysterious Next Issue blurbs that Stan would close out an adventure on. I was able to motor directly into the subsequent story--but you all will need to wait a week or so until the next installment.

[raspberryparker]

Hi!! So can I just say how much in love I am with your blog? My theme was very old so I updated it thanks to your help! That really means a lot to me and your fic recs are always so spot on for me! I also write a Tom Holland x Reader fanfic named "Starstruck on the Red Carpet" and it honestly would be like a dream come true to hear your opinions&thoughts on it. Thank you so much!!

Hello my love! First of all, thank you so much for your lovely and kind words! I’m so glad you find my recs helpful and it’s great that I was able to help you with your theme (which is gorgeous, by the way. Nice job).

I’m so sorry it took me so long to answer this ask but I wanted to read the entire fic and the sequel before I did so you got my full thoughts on it, so here we go! (It’s incredibly long and for that I’m sorry.)

In terms of storytelling and plot, I loved it! I think you did great with the conflict, the main plot and the sub plot/sub conflict(s), and the progression of the story as a whole. I really enjoyed the whole Cinderella thing and the way you spun it. I don’t think I’ve read a Cinderella story like that before so you’re definitely original, but I also enjoyed how that wasn’t the main point of the story and how it grew from there. Also, you’re really good at staying in character for the actors that you were writing for. It’s always important to be able to picture them saying what you’ve written if you’re writing someone who actually exists, and during the after-party scenes, I definitely could.I also really loved your OC’s. Blake made a really good point of conflict that enhanced the story in a great way, and Elijah just made me really happy, as did Nathalie. All good stories need an equally good cast of supporting characters and you executed it really well, so good job!That last part of the final chapter of the sequel was both funny and loving, and it’s hands down my favourite chapter. I always love when things come together, and the whole dating thing made me laugh out loud.The only criticism I have is that of structure, which every writer has struggled with at some point or continues to struggle with. I know I sure as Hell have. I’ve been writing fanfic since I was 12 and I’m 18 now. I’ve written a lot and I’ve read a lot and now that I’m an English major in university, I know what works and what doesn’t to keep people reading.Firstly, it would be so much easier on the reader and keep them engaged in the story regardless of what the story even is if you adjusted the way you structure paragraphs first and foremost. I noticed this especially in the first few chapters of your fic but less and less as I read on (Meaning you’ve improved on your own! Which is amazing!) but it was still quite choppy and hard to grasp what was happening, especially with dialogue. I don’t want to say there are “rules” for paragraph structure for fics, because fanfic is technically fanart and art is subjective, but there are guidelines to follow when you’re writing for school, for work, or professionally. These are in place because it makes your work flow better and makes it easier to read and take in. Some of these include making a new paragraph every time someone new speaks, every time the “camera angle” changes, when you’re starting a new idea, etc. It’s incredibly daunting to see a huge block of text instead of the same text broken down into smaller paragraphs. Seeing one big page of words makes people not want to read it. It’s harsh, like judging books by their covers rather than content, but it’s the truth and everyone is guilty of this whether they know it or not.Something you tend to do a lot is have multiple people (up to three or four at some points) talking during the same paragraph. When this happens, it’s easy for the reader to lose track of who is talking and what’s happening and often leads to them being confused and having to reread the paragraph just to know what’s going on. Fixing this would take your already wonderful plot and give it an extra something to appeal to readers even more.Here are some helpful posts for you if you want to read more in depth on paragraph structure !! 

1  2  3  4My other point is about how you broke up the chapters. I am a writer myself and I know how hard it is to write lots at a time (especially considering I’m a uni student too so I have, like, no time) but I try to make my chapters anywhere between 4k and 7k words. However, a lot of people don’t do this and make their chapters way shorter. But ultimately it all comes down to scene breakdown and length, which I will explain. Especially in the first 5 or 6 parts of your fic, I felt like that could have been condensed into about 3. This is because you spread the same scene out over multiple chapters. This is fine; again fanworks are artistic works and you can write however you want, but another thing I do is try to keep the consumer of my fanworks in mind as I create them. It’s a little bit jarring to jump from chapter to chapter (or wait a week between chapters, if someone is keeping up with the fic as it’s updated) even though it’s still the same setting, the same characters, and essentially the same thing happening. My chapters are longer because they’re usually one or two scenes depending on the length of the scene, but they’re entire scenes regardless. And I’m not saying you should cut stuff out, that’s not what I mean by “condense”. I mean you could have copy and pasted a chapter into the chapter before it and just made it longer. Sometimes, a higher word count is fine if the story flows.For example, and this is just off the top of my head, let’s say a character is going to hang out with a friend. The scene begins with them meeting up, and ends with them parting ways. even if you don’t want to write the ENTIRE scene or think some of it is pointless filler that doesn’t contribute to the plot and you want to cut some parts out, you can put time cuts within the chapter as long as that one scene remains within that one chapter. Again, these aren’t rules. But as both a fanfic reader and writer, it’s easy to notice these things. You actually did this very well once, when you made a time cut where you didn’t write the interviews themselves in chapter five, I believe. You were right in your endnote on that chapter; it would have made it far too long. That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. But I still thought you could have put that time cut in the middle of a chapter rather than between chapters. And when I say time cut, I don’t mean something in bold like ****Time Skip**** placed between paragraphs, because that’s just jolting. It takes the reader out of their immersed state. To make an adequate time cut, just make the space between paragraphs larger, or put a horizontal line that you can copy and paste from google or something (like I did) to separate the pieces without making it look messy.A helpful tip I read a while back while writing my first fic on tumblr was to use the “A and B therefore C” method, or the Incentive, Action and Result method. I forget where I read this tip and I’ve been trying to find it for you but I haven’t been able to, I’m sorry. Here’s an example using a scene from the first chapter of my fic:A or Incentive: Peter is failing EnglishandB or Action: Ned doesn’t want him to fail English; Ned wants him to do well so he doesn’t get kicked out of schoolthereforeC or Result: Ned gets the reader to tutor Peter, which kicks off the plotThat’s the scene! Altogether, the scene written out was about 3,000 words but I made it into half of a chapter because I had more to add to it (if you’ve read my fic you’ll know what I mean, but you don’t have to).Here’s the other half of the chapter broken down like this:A: Peter is struggling with English and it’s distracting him during his hero workandB: He has a nasty run-in with Hammerhead that leaves him injured beyond beliefthereforeC: The reader witnesses him coming back to their dorm building bloody and bruised, and she becomes suspicious I would say the only time that people can get away with ending a chapter in the middle of a scene is when there is a huge cliffhanger they want to incorporate and leave their readers hanging in suspense for a week before the next chapter release. Other than that, it’s better if one scene is confined to one chapter. And my last point is tenses! Oh boy tenses, those horrible, awful tenses. They suck but they’re so so so important. I often found that you randomly switch between present tense and past tense in the middle of your chapter when there isn’t any actual time difference in the scene. Going from “says” to “said” is a little bit confusing, but everyone does it. EVERYONE. Hell, I still do. The important thing is catching yourself when you do. I know I have a few times where it’s slipped through the cracks and I’ve published a chapter where there are a few slip-ups, but again, everyone does it. That’s why I’m not making a huge deal out of it.These are a few reasons why having someone to beta read or edit your fic before you publish it is super important! I’m lucky I have my close friends to do it for me, but a lot of fic writers hide the fact that they write fics from their friends because, let’s be honest, it can be kind of embarrassing. If you ever need someone to beta read or edit for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any other fic writer that you know! I’m more than willing to help you improve your writing (as you can probably tell by this long winded response to your ask) and finally put all this studying for my English degree to good use. I plan to become an English teacher, so the more experience I get the better! I’m always here for you!I really hope you don’t think I’m being rude or pretentious because that is not at all what was meant by this review of your fic. I think you’re incredibly talented and creative, and the idea of your story is a great one that I enjoyed following as I read it. Basically, my main point of this is to say that even if you have an amazing story, if the structure isn’t appealing, chances are people won’t read it. Again, it’s a sad truth but we’re all guilty of it. All in all, it was a wonderful story that was well written and well planned, and I really enjoyed it! I hope you continue writing because you have so much potential, and maybe even take some of my advice. I’m so happy you’re open to opinions, thoughts and constructive criticism on your writing. But remember that you don’t have to do what I say. You art is is just that: YOUR art. And my advice is just advice. At the end of the day, just keep doing you, love.- Gabi  ps. YOUR ART IS LOVELY!! I really love that you added illustrations for the last two parts of the sequel, really helps envision what is happening better. I might start drawing for my fics too ;)

[secrets-ofthe-mind]

My Loves in Fiction and Fanfiction

Hey everyone! I think this is the first actual original post that I’ve written on here, everything else is just the wonderful work of many talented others that bring me small joys here and there. It dawned on me that while this is a Zutara tumblr first and foremost, I do have several other pairings mixed in with the bunch. So I figured I lost out my favorite pairings in 24 years of books/tv shows/ movie love:

1) Zuko and Katara:

Obviously they are my OTP, and will always be in endgame in my heart. I could talk days about them, and the works of @theadamantdaughter, @beanaroony, and the rest of the glorious posse of creative masters that have blessed our lives with their works of Zutara, and will in a later post. But they are what brought me to tumblr, and they are the reason I remain. Fire and Water, Earth and Air, Sword and Fan forever.

2. Tommy Oliver and Kimberly Ann Hart

Surprising fact, I love Power Rangers. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was a favorite of mine when I was little, and the Darker Shade of Green series by UnromanticPoetrss on fanfic.com is one of the most spectacular reimaginings of a series that I’ve ever read, and reinstigated my love for them. I loved the campiness of it all when I was a kid, and the darker AUs and reimaginings in Archive of Our omIwn and fanfiction.com brings it all together. In keeping with Power Ranger couples I also enjoy Wes and Jen from Time Force, Trent and Kira from Dino Thunder, and the Jack/Sky friendship in SPD is wonderful, especially with Sky’s story arc. And Magna Defender just looks badass!

3. Shiro and Princess Allura

Only just finished season 3 of Voltron Legendary Defender, and what can I say I’m hooked on these two. Klance and Piro have my respect and at times my adulation, but Shallura has my love!

4. Bruce Wayne and Princess Diana (Wonder Woman)

Justice League the Animated series is by far the best cartoon adaption of a comic book series ever done. Period. And the thing that holds it together is amazing storytelling and writing, the juxtaposition of Superman and Batman with their developing friendship and differing thoughts on justice, the hints of romance (ugh angst is my shit) between Bruce and Diana, and the real pull and feel of the other characters, ie Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. But Bruce and Diana take the cake for being the best part!

5. Wolverine and Storm/Jean Grey

I enjoy the tension that existed between Logan and Jean in the Fox cartoon and it’s comics, but when I think about character developments, X-Men Schism, and underlying insecurities, I just love Logan and Ororo. His abrasiveness and snark match perfectly with her command and collection, and makes for wonderful interactions. Also Kurt would be the greatest best man ever! Also Logan as a father figure to younger female teammates is one of my favorite parts of his character. His a rough dude, but he loves Laura, Jubilee, and Kitty, and would straight mess up anyone who would think of doing them harm, while also letting them fight their own battles :)

6. Rey and Kylo Ren

I see a lot of redemption arc qualities in this pairing that could be similar to Zutara, really I’m just a sucker for a strong female character who can see past the villainy or flaws in another and bring them to the light, and kick their ass when they act up. It goes both ways, make and female, but I think it’s very powerful. Cliche, yes. Wonderful, yes.

7. Master Chief and Cortana

Halo 4 was amazing because it focused on the relationship between Cortana and Chief and the lengths he’ll go to in order to try and save her, and the sacrifice she makes for him. Their ending scene together in heartbreaking, and though Guardians left a lot to be desired, I do hope they find a way to bridge the human AI gap. Once again a female who can bring emotion, strength, and perspective to a grizzled and war hardened veteran. It’s applicable in my life and that’s why I love it so.

And many others...

Jon Snow and Daenerys

Brienne of Tarth and Jaime Lannister

Eragon and Arya

Piper and the Lone Survivor

Rapunzel and Eugene

Geralt and Yennifer

Bellamy and Clarke

Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy

The list goes on and on, and well touch on all of them in time.

With that, goodnight, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

[aion-rsa]

Daniel Craig Calls Quantum of Solace “A Bit of a Shit-Show”

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Daniel Craig takes his final bow as James Bond in the U.S. this week with No Time to Die, which marks the end of a 15-year run as MI6’s foremost secret agent. While that time has seen Craig reach many highs as the character, there have also definitely been some lows. The talented and outspoken actors have never minced words about those lows, either.

When asked by Time Out in 2015 whether he’d consider doing another Bond film just days after completing the Spectre shoot, Craig infamously replied, “Now? I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.”

Not the type of statement you’d expect from the face of a multi-billion-dollar franchise, especially in the age of Marvel Studios where big-name stars are too afraid to say anything that might turn out to be a breach of contract, but Craig’s always marched to the beat of his own drum, just like his Bond, and we love him for it.

Now the actor is speaking up again, this time about the tortured production that resulted in his second big-screen outing as 007, Quantum of Solace, which is generally considered to be the weakest installment of the Craig era (and one of the worst Bond films of all time).

“The trouble with [Quantum of Solace], it was a bit of a shit-show, to say the least, the full weight of it was there I kind of think that made me probably lock up,” Craig told Empire (via IndieWire).

It’s no secret that Quantum of Solace, a direct sequel to Casino Royale, a much better Bond film, had many problems, including a writer’s strike behind the scenes that forced director Marc Forster to begin filming without a finished script.

“We had the bare bones of a script and then there was a writers’ strike and there was nothing we could do. We couldn’t employ a writer to finish it. I say to myself, ‘Never again,’ but who knows? There was me trying to rewrite scenes—and a writer I am not,” Craig told Collider in 2011, explaining that he and Forster “were the ones allowed to do it. The rules were that you couldn’t employ anyone as a writer, but the actor and director could work on scenes together. We were stuffed. We got away with it, but only just. It was never meant to be as much of a sequel as it was, but it ended up being a sequel, starting where the last one finished.”

The messy way in which the script was developed wasn’t the only problem for Craig, who also revealed to Empire that he was still learning how to deal with the massive weight of the Bond role, something he feels affected his performance in Quantum.

“I would sort of yearn [for] the person I was when I did Casino. Too much knowledge sometimes is not a good thing. I was sort of in the dark about a lot of things, about how things worked, the mechanics of it, how the world really viewed Bond — all of those things. I just didn’t understand them. Then I started to understand them, the weight of it sort of bore down.”

Indeed, the pressure that comes with being the face of such a massive franchise is something no one can truly understand unless they’re in the star’s shoes. But Craig’s performance is hardly the biggest problem with the movie.

The film’s biggest crime is that it’s just so dull. From the desert backdrops that were used for the final act to the sterile environments where middling Bond villain Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) executes his convoluted evil plan, there isn’t really anything interesting to look at in Marc Forster’s first and only 007 film. It probably didn’t help that Forster had to contend with the storytelling baggage of the much better Casino Royale.

Quantum of Solace is the movie that truly established the Craig era’s continuity, with a SPECTRE-like secret organization working against MI6 at every turn, and Bond enduring the heartache of a very bad break up with Vesper Lynd in the last movie. So for a rebound, he and the rebellious Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) go to Bolivia. Their mission: stop a coup d’état that could give Quantum a major foothold in South America. What proceeds…isn’t all that fun. In fact, it’s a chore to watch, especially after the much better (and initially standalone) Skyfall set the franchise back on track.

Well, Craig thinks Quantum was a chore to make too, and now that No Time to Die is here and he can finally retire his license to kill, there’s nothing stopping him from speaking his mind.

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“Maybe I’ll be remembered as the Grumpy Bond,” Daniel Craig told The New York Times last week. “I’m quite satisfied with that.”

No Time to Die is out now in the UK and opens in theaters the US on Oct. 8.

The post Daniel Craig Calls Quantum of Solace “A Bit of a Shit-Show” appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Reviews: True North

The Golden Compass sucks. i saw that wet fart when i was younger, on a whim, and was thoroughly disappointed. Sh*t didn’t make a lick of sense to me. That film was my first introduction to the His Dark Materials and it soured me on the entire franchise. Like most of the movie-going crowd because it flopped like a fat man into a public pool. The thing abut that movie is that it felt like another entry into the Narnia Chronicles, and abhor that franchise. I’ve hated them since i was forced to read them when i was in the third grade. They were terrible, and that was before i become aggressively areligious. Afterward? Bro. Suffice it to say, when the BBC adaption was announced, it was hard pass for me. And then my mom got HBOMax.

I was seeing a ton of ads for season two, a strong focus on Lyra and John Parry. Th more i saw of those Youtube ads, i don’t watch television anymore, the more i became intrigued. Eventually, i bit the bullet and did some research on he show, itself. Yo, i was SO glad i opted to give this thing a chance. The cast was amazing. the principal characters, all some of my favorite actors but, more than that, the plot was mad intriguing. It was so clever and unique and so far removed from Narnia wank, it could be considered anti-Narnia almost. How the f*ck did that movie get so much wrong? Suffice it to say, i gorged on that first season like a fat kid gorges chocolate cake. I finished it last night and these are my impressions.

The Outstanding

First and foremost, i absolutely have to praise Dafne Keen in this, man. She is Lyra Silvertongue, heroine and main character of the entire Dark Materials series. This success of this show rests on the shoulders of the then fourteen year old and she carries that sh*t like a champ. There is a wit and wisdom that Lyra carries which belies her age and Keen taps into that effortlessly. She played Laura Kinney in Logan a few years back, keeping pace with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, so i knew she was skilled in her craft but i never imagined she’s be able to carry such demanding fair, so early in her career. I’d say she was the best thing about this show but that’s not really true. The level of quality in this thing is just that profound.

Ruth Wilson plays Marisa Coulter, Lyra’s mother, and, holy sh*t, is she incredible in the roll. Look, i love Wilson, even when she is in less than quality productions like The Affair. That show was bogus. What wasn’t bogus was her stint as Alice Morgan on Luther. I absolutely fell in love with her on that show and Ms. Coulter gives me all of the Alice vibes, just far more cruel. If Alice was calculating and aloof, the Coulter is deceitfully cruel and i love every second of it. You can tell there is a sadistic streak, straight up wrath, just below the surface and Wilson captures that skin deep veneer in a gently terrifying manner.

James McAvoy comes through and delivers yet again with his detached and insidious Lord Asriel Belacqua. It’s always a pleasure seeing this man do his job and, admittedly, he’s not in this first season much but the time that he is, McAvoy dominates. This is a desperate, desperate, man who knows he is right and will do anything to accomplish his goal. This single-minded drive reminds me so much of Sosuke Aizen from BLEACH and, like Aizen, Lord Asriel literally threw away everything to achieve that goal. It’s wild seeing Professor X go full Magneto and love it!

Line-Manuel Miranda is in this as the snarky Lee Scoresby, Texan Aeronaut, extraordinaire. Look, Manuel is a brilliant artist, i can’t take that away from him. He’s exceptional in Hamilton and on the stage but that’s a completely different skill set. There is a way you have to perform, to project, on stage that doesn’t translate to film and Manuel is still trying to get a handle on that. He’s not terrible in this role, mind you, but he’s just serviceable. However, the chemistry he has with Keen is something special. You can tell they get along strongly and that genuine interactions shines through in their performances together.

The rest of the cast is just as strong, specifically Kit Connor and Joe Tandberg as Pantalaimon and Lorek Brynison, respectively. Ariyon Bakare, Clarke Peters, Anne-Marie Duff, Lucian Msmati, Amir Wilson, Ruta Gedmintas, Will Keen, and Lewin Lloyd all turn in incredibly strong performances, for what they were given. A lot of these characters deserved a bit more screen time, a bit more fleshing out, but i am okay with what we did receive. This ain’t their story, it’s Lyra’s.

I just need to take some time and praise this show for how properly gorgeous it is. I mean, the level of production on this thing is rather profound, you knew that in the opening scene during the flood, but moreso as the world begins to expand. I know a lot of this stuff is filmed on sets and what not but, my goodness, are they elaborate and detailed. That whole arctic run was brilliant. It’s particularly intriguing when you understand how well the CG effects were used in regards to budget. The whole “show don’t tell’ adage definitely comes into effect for this serial and it’s all the better for it.

I am absolutely in love with the narrative, man. Never mind the actual plot in the books, the adaption presented is one of the best I've seen in a long a while. My goodness, the world being built is so enthralling, so captivating, i hate that i slept on this show, this series, for so long. I understand that this is one interpretation of the novel events but I'm still infatuated with every second of it.

The writing in this show is on point, for sure. It feels organic, it feels real. I know this is a series of books, decades old, but that goes a long way to proving the pedigree of this adaption. This doesn’t feel out of place or trite or try hard. It works beautifully, except for when Manuel is delivering dialogue outside of his scenes with Keen, and that is a real joy to watch.

There is a distinct focus on diversity displayed throughout this show so far and i love it. This is a reflection of the world in real time and more, big budget, shows need to show this reality. The difference between this and, say, Disney Star Wars or current Doctor Who, is the fact none of the representation in Materials feels forced. It feels organic, intrinsic to a story about entire worlds. You need this level of diversity for this story to be taken even remotely seriously in the modern day and i commend the production for handling this so well.

The Okay

I’ve never read the books so i can only judge this thing on what i glean from the wiki and what i see in the show. While i am completely smitten with what has been resented, the show feels like an abridged version of what we get in the books. I know for all adaptions that’s true but this feels like a legit highlight real of the greatest hits. I can’t say for sure but the adapted screenplay feels like it’s trying to load up on plot as much as possible, in as short a time as possible. Makes for an interesting view but, as a cat who understands storytelling, it feels like a patchwork of content.

This thing has some pretty brisk pacing. Again, i don’t know from where this first series is adapted but it definitely feels like they were in kind of a hurry to get. I mean, it really doesn’t but once sh*t gets started, it never looks back at all. It feels like that, at certain times, we should have definitely sent more time on an interaction or with a relationship. Lyra’s time in the Magisterial and Bolivar, particularly, seems rushed to me.

It’s uncomfortable how many times they make Dafne get naked. Obviously, they don’t show anything and it’s all inferred but, like, gross.

The Verdict

I loved this show, man. Absolutely adored every second of it. The BBC, when it really wants to, can produce some brilliant film. Luther, Sherlock, War of the Worlds, are all favorites and now His Dark Materials can be confidently added to that list. This show is gorgeous to watch, the production values on full display. Sweeping cinematic vistas both real and composite, permeate this rather cleverly effect heavy adaption. The performances, alone are enough to keep you coming back for more but this is, genuinely, one of the most gorgeous shows I've ever seen. Speaking of performances, everyone is excellent but the anchor is definitely Dafne Keen. Her Lyra Silvertongue is the linchpin of this entire show and she bares that weight brilliantly. I forget sometimes that she’s only fifteen, especially considering the talent she with whom she shares the screen. Ruth Wilson, James McAvoy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda all have capitol roles in this first season and they relish their time on camera, especially Wilson. I’ve been a fan of hers since that brilliant run on Luther as Alice Morgan so seeing her, here, has been giving me the best type of deja vu. His Dark Materials is f*cking outstanding, man. I can gush about this thing ad nauseam but this essay would definitely turn into a novel and no one wants that. If you have HBOMax, definitely give this a go. It’s one of the best shows out, has a full eight hours to binge in season one, and another four, so far, in season two. Sh*t is dope and i highly recommend a proper watch.

[deviilsxskyarchiived]

Did I ever mention, how much I fucking flat out adore Naito’s story arc? So much so, I’ve included a write up about it in my Scriptwriting Unit for Uni. Because everything, literally everything out of his fall and rise comes together perfectly. The fact he was hated by the fans after he won the G1 the first time, had management give up on him too. And now, in 2017, after winning it again. He has BOTH the fans and the brass behind him. 

How he resents the IC title, and Tanahashi because they both took his rightful WK main event from him all those years ago. The fact New Japan doesn’t forget their established canon elements, like those two examples there, like WWE does so much. It just makes me mark out, and just act like a total geek. I’m such a slut for good storytelling, and New Japan does it AMAZINGLY. You can learn so much about writing a script, from wrestling storytelling. It’s not completely different, because it’s still a story first and foremost. I don’t care what anyone says, I love WWE as much as the next guy, they’re always be number one for me in a lot of reasons. But good storytelling? New Japan takes that spot, every single fucking time. Without fail, what talented bookers and storytellers Gedo and Jado are. Props my guys, major props to you. 

Someone should waste like a couple hours with me, talking about Naito’s arc, and you’ll see how god damn passionate I am about this shit. There’s a video analysis out there too, done by this amazing Youtuber and it showcases everything about his story, it’s so great and everyone should see it. Someone come @ me to scream about  this, please and thank you.